FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 20, 2004

Zoo Tiger Cubs Have Their First Vet Visit

It’s a boy, a boy, and a girl! The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo’s trio of rare Sumatran tiger cubs underwent their first veterinary exam Thursday, allowing zoo staff to get their first close look at the 4-week-old cubs.

“They’re all in really good condition,” said Dr. Joe Smith, the zoo’s veterinarian. “We’re very happy with how they’re coming along.”

Since their birth on April 22, the cubs have enjoyed complete privacy with their mother, 4-year-old Chrissie. The zoo staff felt it best to allow the new family to behave as they would in the wild, where the cubs remain in their den with their mother until they are four months old. “The best thing for the cubs is to be cared for by Mom,” said Mark Weldon, the zoo’s animal curator.

During Thursday’s exam, the zoo staff temporarily moved Chrissie to an adjacent pen and closed the door, then quickly conducted the exam. Dr. Smith administered the cats’ first vaccinations, which are the same shots given to domestic kittens, and keepers weighed each cub. The two males weighed 9.7 and 10.3 pounds; the female weighed 8.4 pounds. “They are right on target,” said Dr. Smith of the cubs’ weights. Two of the cubs were calm and cooperative during the exam, but the largest male was described as “feisty” by keepers. By the end of the 10-minute exam, Chrissie was pawing at the door, anxious to be reunited with her cubs.

The cubs, who have not yet been named, spend most of their day sleeping and nursing, according to keepers. Their eyes are open – tiger cubs are born blind – and they’re starting to swat and play with mom, keepers said. “Chrissie is being a great mom,” said Weldon.

The cubs’ next exam will be in four weeks, when they’ll get their next set of vaccinations and be weighed again.

For now, the cubs will remain in their off-exhibit holding pen, out of sight from visitors. But zoo goers can get a peek at the cubs via a closed circuit TV set up in the Indonesian Rain Forest building, where the tigers are housed. The cubs’ father, Berani, can be seen daily in the zoo’s Tiger Forest exhibit.

Sumatran tigers are native to the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where they inhabit remote tropical rain forests. Only about 200 -- 500 of these endangered cats are estimated to remain in the wild. Seven Sumatran tiger births were recorded in North American zoos in 2003, according to the Species Survival Plan of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, which manages the Sumatran tiger population in North America and recommended this breeding.

The zoo is open every day from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. until October 10. Admission is $7.50 for adults, $5.00 for children age 2-14 and for seniors over age 60. Babies under age 2 and Zoo Society Members are admitted free.

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