London Zoo announces birth of Sumatran tiger cub triplets
By Staff The Associated Press | March 12, 2014
This Sunday Feb. 9, 2014 photo issued by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) on Wednesday March 12, 2014, shows Sumatran tigress Melati with her as yet unsexed triplet Sumatran tiger cubs which were born at the zoo to the five-year-old Sumatran tigress Melati on Feb. 3, 2014 following a 106-day pregnancy. AP Photo/Zoological Society of London
AP Photo/Zoological Society of London
LONDON – At London Zoo, good news has come in threes.
The zoo said Thursday that 5-year-old Sumatran tiger Melati has given birth to triplets, a little more than a year after the endangered tiger lost a three-week-old cub.
London Zoo said the three cubs – whose sexes are not yet known – all arrived within an hour of each other early on Feb. 3.
The cubs’ first moments have been captured on hidden cameras and zookeepers are monitoring the three around the clock.
Teague Stubbington, a zookeeper, said the cubs have hit several milestones including opening their eyes and taking tentative first steps, and that their personalities are starting to emerge.
Stubbington revealed that one has earned the nickname “Trouble” for being first to explore its den and also for waking up the other two cubs.
Sumatran tigers are listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Animals.