Rolling Hills Zoo announced the successful birth of three Amur tiger cubs born Wednesday morning to mother Andrea and father Dhenuka.
Amur tigers are classified as an endangered species on the IUCN list. Andrea and Dhenuka came to Rolling Hills Zoo on a breeding recommendation by the Tiger Species Survival Plan developed by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, of which Rolling Hills Zoo is an accredited member.
This is the third litter for Andrea, who is 11 years old. Born at the St. Louis Zoo, Andrea came to Rolling Hills Zoo from the Indianapolis Zoological Society.
Dhenuka, nine years old, is a first-time father. Born in Milwaukee County Zoological Garden, he came to Rolling Hills Zoo from the Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and weighs in at 414 lbs. Amur tigers are the largest cats in the world.
Currently, the tigers and their cubs are off-exhibit and will be so for a while depending upon how well the cubs and their parents do in the coming weeks.
“We are on tiger time, and mother and cubs will let us know when they are ready to do certain things,” said Bob Jenkins, RHZ’s executive director. “We anticipate that the cubs will be off exhibit for approximately two months, possibly longer.”
Staff are constantly monitoring their status throughout the day by direct observation and security cameras.
The common litter size for tigers is 2 to 4 cubs, and normal birth weight is between 1.75 and 3.5 pounds. Since their birth, the cubs have been bonding with their mother and have not been weighed. When keepers have an opportunity to weigh them, they will also be able to determine their sex.
Like other cats, the cubs were born with their eyes closed and it will be two weeks before their eyes open. Tigers are born with all of their original stripes and they won’t change as they grow to adulthood. No two tigers will have the same pattern.
Rolling Hills Zoo is a 65-acre zoological park which includes a world-class wildlife museum. The zoo is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.