Trio of critically endangered tiger cubs born at West Midlands Safari Park

They arrived earlier this month.

Author: Hannah RichardsonPublished 30th Jan 2025

Three critically endangered Sumatran tiger cub have been born at West Midlands Safari Park.

The trio arrived on Friday 17 January 2025, to mum, 13-year-old Dourga, with the first cub arriving at 10:53am, the second an hour later at 11:53am and the third at around 1pm.

The moment was monitored eagerly by the keepers, who were delighted when they saw that three cubs had safely arrived.

Head Keeper of Carnivores, Kasha Carter, said, “We started monitoring our female Sumatran tiger, Dourga, closely after we noticed her belly had grown larger a couple of weeks ago, nearing a predicted due date we were preparing for. She started to show nesting behaviour and on Friday morning we spotted more of a change. We gave her some space while she went into the cubbing den we had set up for her, and watched excitedly on the CCTV, as she successfully gave birth to three tiny cubs!

“Dourga has been doing a fantastic job at nursing and all three cubs have been suckling and seem to be very lively from what we can see so far! She is a very caring mother.”

She continued, “This is such an amazing moment for the carnivore team and I to witness and be a part of, and we are proud to be playing our part in a successful conservation programme for an animal that is ‘critically endangered’ in the wild. We can't wait to see what the future holds for them.”

Dourga gave birth to the cubs in an indoor den, where the youngsters have since been busy learning how to suckle, had lots of snuggles and have taken their first tentative steps, all be it blind, as their eyes are closed at birth for a few weeks.

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