A bouncing new arrival to the critically endangered Sumatran tiger family was introduced to the public at Dublin Zoo yesterday, writes Sorcha Crowley.
Three-month-old tiger cub Ratna was born in Dublin Zoo on June 22nd to her mother Sigra and father Indah, weighing a mere 600 grams.
She got off to a rocky start in life when her mother rejected her at birth, which is not uncommon among tigers giving birth for the first time, the zoo claimed.
The cub was hand-raised by Dublin Zoo staff and is now thriving at a healthy 11 kgs and chewing her first meat off the bone.
Ratna, which means jewel in Bahasa Indonesian, can be seen at the Sumatran tiger exhibit in the zoo.
The director of Dublin Zoo, Mr Leo Oosterweghel, said yesterday "all of the team at Dublin Zoo was really delighted with the birth of our tiger cub".
"She has made exceptional progress since birth, from when she was very tiny and delicate and we are now delighted to introduce her to visitors and she is already enjoying the attention," he said.
"This really is a welcome birth considering there are only 500 Sumatran tigers remaining in the wild and only 330 remaining in zoos worldwide," said Mr Oosterweghel.
Tiger talks take place daily at 12.45 p.m. at the Sumatran tiger exhibit in Dublin Zoo throughout September and October and at the same time on weekends from November to February.