A Tiger Cub’s Day
Posted at 3:53 pm October 7, 2008 by Laura
Mek is the mother of the three tiger cubs.
Do you ever wonder what life is like for tiger cubs and their mother and father? What do they eat? What do they do for fun? I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to witness the tiger behind the scenes.
These Malayan tiger cubs, Jin (female), Menderu (male), and Seri (female), and their mother, Mek, and father, Paka, seem to live very comfortably in their enclosure. And their day starts at the crack o’ dawn!
One of the tiger cubs looks for mom.
“The cubs wake up very early; they’re already up when I arrive, which is about six in the morning!” says Nicole Johnston, a keeper for the tiger cubs. The cubs like to play in the morning and take a short nap every 20 to 30 minutes.
In the morning, the cubs and mom and dad are fed. The keepers have to place the food in separate rooms where the tigers are absent, so that the keeper will be safe. The adult tigers eat about 3,000 grams (that’s a whopping 6 pounds!) of meat a day, while the cubs get 1,000 grams (2 pounds) a day. Food is also used as a treat for the tigers when they go off exhibit. The three cubs love eating rats, and mom and dad enjoy a nice rabbit. The family of tigers also enjoys a cow femur every now and then.
At the end of the week, each tiger is weighed to see if they are gaining or losing weight at a healthy pace.
“We have to make sure that the cubs are gaining weight,” says Nicole. “That way we can revise their diets to fit their needs or check if they are sick.”
When the tigers are on exhibit, they like to play in the water and play with each other. They also have toys that they enjoy playing with as well.
Nicole says “The toys for the tigers are basically anything that they can chew on or destroy. Boxes full of hay, toilet paper tubes, tires, whatever they can bite through.” According to Nicole, the tigers also like the smell of perfume and cologne, since it has a different scent from the rest of the Zoo. “They love to smell things that wouldn’t usually be in the wild; it’s something different and something fun for them to do.”
A tiger cub plays with a pinecone.
Mom bathes the tigers when she is with them off exhibit. She likes the cubs and gets along well with them; mom and the cubs play together and live together. Mom also gets along with dad very well. According to the keepers, Mek and Paka communicate with each other using low growls, and it’s pretty scary when you hear them.
“Overall, the tigers are very happy here,” says Nicole.
If you want to catch the tigers, they’re usually on exhibit from 9 a.m. until noon.
Laura is a high school intern at the San Diego Zoo.
To read about the birth of the three tiger cubs, check out Tiger Cubs at the Zoo!
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October 7th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
we were at the SDZ in sept. we saw these beautiful tigers outside in their enc losure. mom was very active and vocal. it looked as though she was waiting for food from the keeper or something, as she kept jumping up ( standing on her hind legs) up against a wire screen as if she saw someone on the other side who interested her greatly! she was making all kinds of racket and pacing, and pacing for quite some time!
finally, after considerable time, she settled down and relaxed, laying down with her babies around her playing and romping. quite a sight I must say even though they were quite far away. the tigers are my very favorite of the big cats! thanks for the info! the babies won’t stay small for very long as they grow so fast. how long will they stay with mom?
October 8th, 2008 at 11:18 am
What a beautiful picture of Mek! She’s stunning!
October 8th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
A very interesting and informative article, Laura. Thank you! So the tigers like cologne and perfume-how funny!
October 9th, 2008 at 9:01 am
Thanks for reading, guys!
October 9th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Laura, this is such an informative article. Thank you so much! Did you take those pictures yourself?
November 21st, 2008 at 4:29 pm
hi, great article on our wonderful baby tigers, who are getting bigger day by day. thanks.
January 22nd, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Hi im 12 years old and I was wondering your best tiger names, just curious what you would name a baby tiger!
October 11th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
This was the latest blog I could find on Mek’s cubs and was wondering if they are still at the Zoo. I think I saw Jin and Seri in September but not sure about Menderu.
Moderator’s note: Only Mek’s two girl cubs are still here at the zoo. They are usually on exhibit from 9-4pm (after that, the adults go out on exhibit). Their brother, Menderu, went to the Charles Paddock Zoo in Atascadero, CA where he is a big hit.