London Zoo announces birth of endangered tiger cub
In this mage from video taken Sunday Sept 22 and made available by London Zoo Tuesday Oct. 1 2013 of the first tiger cub for 17 years to be born at the zoo. After a pregnancy lasting approximately 105 days and a six-minute labour, five-year-old Sumatran tiger Melati gave birth to a single cub. Zoo keepers kept a careful eye on the first-time mum through hidden cameras installed to keep watch without disturbing her. (AP Photo/ London Zoo)
LONDON >> Call it Cub Cam: Hidden cameras have captured the birth of a Sumatran tiger cub, London Zoo’s first in 17 years.
The zoo announced Wednesday that five-year-old tiger Melati had given birth to the cub over the weekend following a six-minute labor.
It said zookeepers had kept Melati’s 105-day pregnancy under wraps so they could keep a careful eye on the tiger, installing hidden cameras so as not to disturb the first-time mother.
The cub is the grandchild of the zoo’s last tiger cub, Hari — the father of Melati.
The cub — whose sex and name are not yet known — was born six months after the opening of the zoo’s new “tiger territory” exhibit, which is designed to encourage breeding of the critically endangered species.
The zoo said its new arrival will not be shown for a few weeks.
