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