Sumatran tiger gives birth at zoo

Sumatran tiger gives birth at zoo

MEDAN, North Sumatra: A female Sumatran tiger gave birth to four
cubs last Sunday at the Pematang Siantar Zoo in North Sumatra.

The births are particularly exciting because the Sumatran
tiger is on the brink of extinction.

"All four tiger cubs born on Sunday are healthy and expected
to survive," Richard, a zoo official, said on Saturday.

Of the four cubs, one is male and three are female. The cubs'
mother was donated to the zoo by a Jakarta resident, while the
father came to the zoo after being trapped by villagers in Dusun
Sumbersari Kampung Rakyat, Labuhan Batu regency here, in December
2000.

On Oct. 28, 2003, another Sumatran tiger at the zoo gave birth
to three cubs. --Antara