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Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo Displays Beautiful Blue Eyed White Tiger Cubs
Tampa, FL - A pair of seven-week-old white tiger cubs born at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo are beginning to explore their exhibit with mother, “Nikki,” in the zoo’s Asian Gardens area. The family is doing well, with mother and cubs spending most of their first weeks together off exhibit for their safety and privacy in bonding. As the cubs have grown and matured, zoo staff has begun the process of offering access to the outdoor yard for short intervals as the family establishes a new pattern of behavior. This is the second litter for experienced mom Nikki while living at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo. The newest cubs, a boy and a girl, were born the morning of October 4 weighing about 3.6 and 2.5 pounds respectively on their first veterinary check-up. The zoo’s adult white male tiger, “Yala,” is Nikki’s mate and sired the new cubs. The zoo’s Asia keepers have monitored mother and the newborn cubs closely since birth, and report that Nikki is a very attentive is nursing routinely. The cubs are now well-bonded with mom and are moving about with improving motor skills. Although the mother and father are an established couple, the adult male will be separated for the time being for the safety of the cubs. The gestation period for tigers is three to four months, or approximately 110 days. The average litter is two or three cubs which weigh about two pounds at birth. Cubs are born with their eyes shut and helpless, relying entirely on their mother for the first three months and nursing for many more. The survival of the cubs will be dependent upon the mother’s ability to care and nurture them, the cubs’ ability to fight any infections association with normal birth, and the success of weaning and independence. White tigers originate from Bengal tigers. They are not albinos and they are not a separate subspecies of tiger. They have blue eyes, a pink nose and white fur covered with chocolate-colored stripes. White tigers are born to tigers that carry the unusual gene needed for white coloring. Wild white tigers are very rare, because their white coats provide poor camouflage, making them easily spotted by prey. Public viewing of the Zoo’s newest white wonders will be limited to morning initially as the cubs continue to grow and mature. Mother and cubs will rotate on exhibit with their white tiger father, Yala.
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By Rachel Nelson
About Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo
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Unusual to have three snow leopard cubs
Congratulations to ABQ BioPark and the proud cat parents on the birth of three snow leopard cubs. That's fantastic news and we look forward to these three playing an important role in snow leopard survival breeding and also helping educate people about their endangered cousins in the wild.
Snow leopards live in some of the most extreme environments on earth - in high altitudes and freezing temperatures. If we don't do a lot of work with communities and governments in snow leopards 12 range countries, these beautiful cats may be extinct in the wild in our life time.
Sibylle Noras
Founder and Publisher
“Saving Snow Leopards” website. See how conservationists and zoos are working to help these rare and elusive cats avoid extinction.
http://www.snowleopardblog.com
Love penguin fluffballs.
I especially liked if you go to the zoo's homepage and click on the info about naming the baby, the winner says she'd like to be able to tell her dad that a penguin was named after him for his birthday. Adorable!
If you have any interest in reading a new blog, featuring conservation of adorable animals and their habitats, please check out my website...
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Thanks!
World Oceans Day
For more information about World Oceans Day and a list of other events in your area you can visit www.WorldOceansDay.org
Elephants
Asome news on the new baby! I agree with everyone here on the fact that animals should not be in captivation. If you want to check out a really cool place in Thailand where you can care for elephants check out http://www.elephantstay.com this place is a sanctuary for retired working elephants, it's an amazing place and they do so much good for the animals who live there. I went a few months ago and it was amazing.
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Publisher, http://www.tikikiki.com
zoo animal diet's
It's ridiculous to try extrapolate zoo animals diet to human beings, and it flies in the face of all science of the last 30 years that looked into nutrition and health research. Maybe Rudy Socha was being sarcastic? I hope so.
response to starseed
I fully agree with you when it comes to the captivity of orcas. These animals live considerably shorter, unhealthier lives than they normally would have in the wild. I am disgusted by what I have seen at Sea World. They claim to be trying to educate people on the animals when really it is all nothing but a circus with the animals being made to perform to attract customers. I am a little more on the fence however when it comes to some other species of dolphins, such as the ones they keep at Vancouver Aquarium. While I do not support the capture of wild dolphins, I do recognize the fact that there are species that actually live longer and perhaps healthier lives in captivity than in the wild. One of the neat things at the Vancouver Aquarium is that none of the dolphins were captured for the purpose of entertainment: they were all animals that were rescued after getting caught and injured in fishing nets and are unable to return to the wild due to their injuries. I have seen the shows and the aquarium are truly focused more on educating visitors than trying to entertain them at the animals' expense.
Christian's Award
I know that Christian is dedicated to her aquarium job and to the rehab of sea turtles. I am proud of her.
Dry Tortugas National Park
The seashore, our accredited Summer Learning Adventure Camps merge scientific exploration Dry Tortugas National Park with hands-on fun and learning. Campers investigate marine habitats, create ocean art projects, learn about careers in oceanography, and combine the science and sports of surfing and snorkeling, all while making new friends and memories.
hey
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Don't support it anymore
I think we should move on from having dolphins in captivity now - we all know this isn't good for them.
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diabetes
pacaya samiria national reserve
The Pacaya Samiria National Reserve is a magical place. The flora, fauna, remoteness and beauty are exquisite. Another interesting aspect is how the indigenous people there live. To learn more and see photos taken by indigenous children in the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, you can visit ninosdelaamazonia.org
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