The Prague Zoo has confirmed that a Sumatran tiger — of which there are only an estimated 300 left in the wild — gave birth over the weekend to two cubs, but caretakers note there’s a chance that the “inexperienced mother” won’t succeed in rearing them.
“The [new] mother Surami arrived exactly a year ago from France; we paired her with a partner and a year and a day later the brood was born,” Prague Zoo spokesperson Jana Ptačinská Jirátová told the Czech News Agency (ČTK).
The Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) is a subspecies of tiger found on the Indonesia island of Sumatra. A decade ago, there were an estimated 400–500 of them living in the wild but their numbers have dwindled as the human population of the island expanded.
A strong swimmer, the Sumatran tiger has webbing between its toes and given the chance will often run larger hoofed prey — like board and tapirs — into the water.
