Two Malayan tiger cubs debut at WCS’s Bronx Zoo

Photo courtesy of Julie Larsen Maher © WCS.

Two rare Malayan tiger cubs (Panthera tigris jacksoni) born at Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo are making their public debut at the popular Tiger Mountain exhibit.

The cubs, Nadia and Azul, are both female and were born in January. In the days following the birth, their mother was not providing suitable maternal care so Bronx Zoo keepers intervened and hand-raised the cubs until they were fully weaned.

This is the third litter of Malayan tigers born at the Bronx Zoo.

Initially, the cubs required 24-hour care and were bottle-fed a milk formula every three hours. Food intake was carefully recorded, and the cubs were weighed daily to ensure they gained an appropriate amount of weight.

The cubs were fully weaned by 40 days of age, at which time they began to be slowly introduced to sights, sounds, and smells of adult tigers.