Two tiger cubs born at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

CLEVELAND — Two new Amur tiger cubs were born on Nov. 6 at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, the zoo announced Friday.

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The zoo held off announcing the big news because the first few days after birth are critical for cubs and their mother to bond. The zoo’s animal care and veterinary teams said they have observed good developmental behavior between the cubs and their mother, Zoya, such as nursing and grooming, according to WKYC. Zoo visitors won’t see the new babies for a while more, WJW reported.

“It will be eight to 12 weeks until the cubs are big enough to venture outside,” said Jen Degroot, an associate animal curator with the zoo. DeGroot said they have set up the maternity den with cameras to monitor the tigers remotely.

“While Tigers are solitary animals, mother tigers typically raise their young for the first two years,” zoo officials said, according to WKYC. “Mom and cubs are expected to remain behind the scenes in their maternal den for the first few months before the cubs are old enough to begin exploring the outdoor habitats.”

The gender of the cubs is not yet known. Degroot said that hopefully the next step will be to determine their gender and to perform a physical checkup at eight weeks, WKYC reported.

While the stars of the show are in isolation, the father, Hector, will be available and visible. Visitors to the Rosebrough Tiger Passage will be able to visit him and learn more about the threats that face Amur tigers, including poaching and habitat loss, the zoo said.

Amur tigers are an endangered species, with only about 400 to 500 remaining in their native range in the far eastern side of Russia and northeastern China.