zoo
Tiger offspring presented in Frankfurt
The small Sumatran tigers explore their surroundings. photo
© Boris Roessler/dpa
Concentrated cuteness in the “cat jungle” of the Frankfurt Zoo: the two-month-old tiger cubs “Raja” and “Rimba” delight visitors. For their wild counterparts in Sumatra, the situation is serious.
The nearly two-month-old tiger cubs in Frankfurt Zoo made its first public appearance on Wednesday – and got a health check-up right away.
For the first time, zoo director Christina Geiger had the opportunity to take a very close look at the tiger offspring and determine: they are two males. “Raja” and “Rimba” received their first vaccinations, including against cat flu.
So far, the offspring of the big cats could only be viewed with video recordings from the whelping box. Mother “Cinta”, for whom it was the first offspring despite being nine years old, takes very good care of the two cubs, who are increasingly adventurous. On their first appearance, however, the tiger cubs were rather shy and preferred to retreat to a protected corner.
Critically endangered species
Sumatran tigers are a tiger subspecies that has become very rare. Estimates by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) assume that a maximum of 400 animals are currently still living in their ancestral homeland.
The Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) has been involved in protecting the lowland rainforests in the Bukit Tiga Puluh region (which translates to “30 hills”) on the Indonesian island of Sumatra since 1998. This biodiversity hotspot is home to many endangered species such as tigers, orangutans and elephants.
“Around 30 tigers are still believed to be in the Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park. But nobody knows for sure, so we want to carry out an investigation with camera traps over the entire national park. Because we fear that the tigers will also be fewer here,” said Christof Schenck, Managing Director of the FZS. The nature conservation euro for Frankfurt zoo visitors also helps here.