(12 Sep 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Apple Valley, Minnesota – 11 September 2024
1. Various tiger cubs with mother
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Trista Fischer, Minnesota Zoo zoologist:
“For these guys it’s just pure excitement that they’re feeling this grass and this new terrain and starting to feel more of what they would be feeling in the wild environment.”
3. Trista Fischer watching cubs play
4. Various tiger cubs playing with mother
5. Various zoo staff feeding tiger cubs
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Trista Fischer, Minnesota Zoo zoologist:
“This litter is so valuable to the population right now.”
7. Various tiger cubs with mother
8. Trista Fischer watching cubs play
9. Various tiger cubs with mother
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Trista Fischer, Minnesota Zoo zoologist:
“Our work’s not over, but all that work so far is really paying off in how well that these cubs are acclimating to a new surrounding, pretty much immediately. They’re showing a lot of resiliency, which is something that we work hard for in human care. We want these animals to have a lot of confidence and be able to adapt to new environments just as they’re doing today.”
11. Various tiger cubs with mother
STORYLINE:
A pair of rare Amur tiger cubs are making their public debut at the Minnesota Zoo, raising hopes for preserving an endangered species that’s native to far eastern Russia and northern China.
Andrei and Amaliya got to venture outside and feel the grass of their new home under their paws Wednesday for the first time since their 12-year-old mother, Dari, gave birth on May 23.
“It’s just pure excitement that they’re feeling this grass and this new terrain and starting to feel more of what they would be feeling in the wild environment,” said
Minnesota Zoo zoologist Trista Fischer.
Scientists estimate the Amur tiger population is just around 400 to 500 in the wild. They were near the brink of extinction in the 1930s and 1940s but have recovered somewhat since then. It’s tricky to breed them, and around one in four Amur cubs don’t make it to adulthood, whether it’s in the wild or in captivity, she said. Poachers are another major threat.
But the Minnesota Zoo has a long history of conserving tigers. Its Amur tigers have produced 57 cubs, 46 of which survived for at least 30 days. Of those 46, 21 have gone on to produce litters of their own, producing another 86 Amur cubs. The births of Andrei and Amaliya raised the zoo’s population to seven Amur tigers, including their sire, Luka.
Fischer also serves as the leading coordinator for the Tiger Species Survival Plan, a breeding program in the United States with facilities in other countries that works on a global level to preserve the big cats. The plan manages three groups of tigers, Sumatran, Malayan and Amur.
“This litter is so valuable to the population right now,” she explained, saying the genetic diversity of heathy tigers in human care could someday be used to help support populations in the wild.
Zoo spokesman Zach Nugent said the cubs will remain housed together with their mom for about 18 months, before Andrei, the male, is moved to separate housing, around the same time a male cub in the wild would start venturing on his own. Amaliya, the female, may spend a little more time with Dari, up to 24 months. Then Fischer will determine whether either cub should be bred, and potentially moved for that to another accredited zoo, which typically happens after the cubs reach two years of age.
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