Taman Safari gets 4 new tiger cubs

Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor

The number of tigers at Taman Safari in Bogor has reached 150 now with the birth of four cubs.

The mother, a white eight-year-old tiger named Shinta, gave birth to three female cubs and one male on April 25 (see photo).

The cubs are the offspring of the white Indian tiger and 11- year old Bono, a male Bengal tiger.

Each cub has a coat which is a mix of white and yellow.

According to Rudi Subagyo, the animal tamer who monitored the delivery, the mixed breeding was aimed at conserving the population of the rare white tiger.

"We expect a white third generation," he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

White Indian tigers (Phantera tigris-tigris) are believed to be descendants of the gods and are very rare.

Shinta herself is a result of the breeding of a white Indian female tiger and a Bengal tiger.

It was the second delivery for her. She gave birth to three cubs on March 19, 2000.

Shinta's mother Srikandi was the first white tiger in Safari's collection which arrived in the country from Cincinnati Zoo, the United States, in 1989. Srikandi has given birth to 28 cubs.

The first Bengal male tiger, Manggala, was sent to Taman Safari a few years later from Minnesota Zoo, also in the U.S. The park now has 40 Bengal tigers.