Firsts for Tiger Cubs
Posted at 2:54 pm January 27, 2009 by Kym Nelson
Kucing
It seems that Harimau Kayu and Kucing have virtually traded personalities. Harimau may have been the most adventurous at first, but maybe he didn’t find the rest of the world up to his liking. He is by far the most reserved and cautious cub. Kucing, on the other hand, has found that an explorer’s lifestyle suits him just fine! He seems to have no fear and will investigate anything new.
The cubs received their first check-ups by the Park’s veterinarians and all received a clean bill of health. They were all implanted with a microchip to permanently identify them, received their first set of vaccinations and a dewormer medication (just in case), and had blood samples taken. If you could forget the part about the 16-pound tiger in your lap you may just imagine that you were at the veterinarian with your 8-week-old kitten! Just like a kitten, the tiger cubs will need two more sets of booster vaccinations at 12 and 16 weeks of age.
Harimau Kayu
Growing stronger and braver has also led to another development…the love of play! Kucing and Damai are the most active and can regularly be seen engaged in a wrestling match. Harimau Kayu often will stay off to the side and watch his siblings play, but sometimes he will get dragged in. On occasion we have even seen all three cubs plan a (not-so) sneaky attack on mom! The cubs will not only play with each other; they are fascinated with the enrichment items and toys that the keepers put in their rooms every day. We try to give them new things all the time to play with, and they have caught on. Some of their favorite toys are cardboard boxes and palm fronds. They already love tearing things apart and chewing on things, so hay inside a paper bag is a big hit as well. The keepers also have some special toys that the cubs get to play with while we are in the room; these are toys, like small balls and ropes, that mom, Delta, cannot have access to. By making time spent with the keepers so much fun, the cubs are becoming more trusting of us, and all are relaxed and play when we are present.
As the cubs continue to grow and mature, I will be sure to keep you updated. The cubs are still too small to go out into the exhibit, but be sure to check back in the months to come for reports of their outings!
Kym Nelson is a senior keeper at the Wild Animal Park.
Update: The tiger cubs are now on exhibit from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays, and Wednesdays.
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January 28th, 2009 at 6:56 am
I want to thank you for all of the updates. My wife and I love to follow the growth of the cubs (all of them, lions, tigers, or whatever happens to be born this week . . .), especially since we’re no longer in the SoCal area. I wanted to comment, though, on the changes in personality of the male cubs. I adopted two kittens (sisters) several years ago, and they made the exact same switch. One went from wild and adventurous to serene and cautious while the other adopted the adventurous role. I think cats are cats, no matter what size. Thanks again for the updates!
January 28th, 2009 at 11:33 am
I want a 16 pound tiger in my lap!!!
January 28th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
they get so big so fast. i wonder if the change in personality has anything to do with dominance…with my kitties (i have two siamese) the dominant one is out going and and other follows the lead of the dominant kitty and he is far more timid and cautious.
January 28th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
in a few months we all will look like happy meals with legs to the cubs.
January 29th, 2009 at 10:41 am
I have two cats and my first cat was very shy until we got another cat. Now the first cat is very adventoroues while the other just follows. The second cat is started to become more curios and less cautios because of the first. I wonder if the tigers will devolp in th same way.
January 29th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
WOW!! I wonder what’s it like to see cubs and other animals grow like that…. i never really watched or had a pet sence a baby… but 1, and she was our dog named angle. But man!!! I would love to hang around animals like that!!!!
January 29th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Kym, what a fun job. Watching individual animals grow and their special personalities and preferences develop must be very satisfying and entertaining. It is definitely educational. We appreciate the detailed accounts of each of the cubs, and look forward to hearing more of their adventures as they continue to grow and mature.
January 30th, 2009 at 10:17 am
I wonder how big they will be in six months?
February 5th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Kym, I just read a article from Za, it had a feature piece about a Sumatran Tiger named Sekayu who happened to be born at SDZ in Oct Of 1987, she at 21 yrs old is the oldest Sumatran tiger in a captive setting. It credits her long life to good keeper, vet care and enrichment items, but most of all her cantankerous attitude.
February 5th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
I love tigers!!! I sooo want one as a pet!!!
February 7th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
the baby tigers are so cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i wish i could come to see it.i will come one day.
February 8th, 2009 at 5:56 am
Thanks for keeping us updated about your gorgeous Sumatran tiger cubs! Will you be able to weigh them from time to time like you do with the lion cubs and Malayan tiger cubs? If so, please can you include their weights on the blogs about the cubs? I always love knowing big cat cubs’ growth rates, as this is my main area of interest!
February 11th, 2009 at 11:45 pm
Kym,
Thanks so much for keeping us updated on these cuuuuute Sumatran tiger cubs.
When do you think the cubs will be on exhibit? Will you wait until the weather is a little warmer? I hope you’ll let us know a few days prior – I want to be there. Where in the Park will we find their exhibit? I’m just full of questions today – as the time gets closer to when I think they might be out, I’m getting excited!
Moderator’s note: We still don’t know when they’ll be ready to make their debut. Our tiger exhibit is located east of the African elephant exhibit.
February 12th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
Hello,
At what age does the WAP allow the cubs to go out on exhibit? At 4 months, 6 months???? Would appreciate any info as I am planning a trip to WAP in early March and would love to see the cubs. Thx.
Moderator’s note: We are planning the cubs’ public debut for Friday, March 13.
March 2nd, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Ya Sekayu now lives at the zoo atlanta with many other endangered species. She has had a cub there and living here in atlanta im so happy that shes part of the zoos family along with the for giant pandas and the other tigers ( onne whom could be pregnant) . To the moderator I would like to ask how else are you associated to the Zoo Atlanta I love you both.
Moderator’s note: We work with any zoo that is accredited with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
March 16th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
We are coming to San Diego this weekend and will be at the zoo on Friday to see the orchids and the Wild Animal Park on Sunday. Will the cubs be on exhibit then?
Moderator’s note: Currently, the cubs are scheduled to be out in the exhibit on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays (barring any unforeseen circumstances, of course!). You should be able to see them this weekend. And don’t forget to take a peek at the cheetah cub and rhino calf in the Park’s Animal Care Center and the newborn elephant in the elephant yard with his family!
March 17th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
WOW! There are so many babies at the San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park! There was an african elephant and now tigers… I hope the family of tigers of the Park stay healthy, happy and produce more babies.
March 25th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
All the information about the cubs is very important for me. I´m a keeper of four tigers cubs borned in last december (2008). Could you tell me whats things you use for enrichment in managment areas? I´ve got a lot of very questions about how work with the tigers cubs. If you can please tell where I could find information about this. Thank you very much.
Val
Kymberlee responds: We have found that some easy enrichment items are cardboard boxes, telephone books, paper towel, hay, perfumes and spices, and shredded paper.
April 3rd, 2009 at 4:08 pm
The ZSSD bloggers post some excellent photos and everyone would really enjoy seeing larger versions. But when you click on them, they don’t change size. Anyway to improve that?
Moderator’s note: We make them small so the pages load quickly. However, in our What’s New section there are great animal baby images (including our newest tiger cubs) that are much larger!
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/whatsnew/
May 7th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
I LOVE TIGERS.THEY ARE FUZZY
May 18th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
We were at the WAP today and didn’t see the cubs or any tigers for that matter. Are the cubs still going to be on exhibit?
Kym responds: The tiger cubs are on exhibit Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays unless there is an unexpected reason they can’t go out (usch as a medical reason). There is always a tiger on exhibit, but it is a 2 1/2-acre exhibit and the tigers can camouflage well.
March 11th, 2010 at 9:52 am
Hi –
Are you at any time permitted to pet any of the tigers?
thanks!
Karen
Moderator’s note: Keepers can touch tiger cubs when the cubs are small, but certainly not a full-size tiger.