Rare Amur Tigers Born at Minnesota Zoo on Mother's Day

The Minnesota Zoo shared some big news that happened on Mother's Day last month.

Dari, a rare Amur Tiger and mom, along with the Minnesota Zoo's Animal Care and Health teams welcomed four cubs on May 8th, one cub did not survive, which the zoo says isn't uncommon for a litter that size, leaving two male cubs and one female cub under the care of mom and the team at the zoo.

The cubs and mom are not on exhibit right now, instead, they are busy growing and reaching important milestones in their development. The zoo says they are "cautiously optimistic" and hope to have the cubs in their public habitat sometime in mid, maybe late July.

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“Dari has proven to be an incredible mother to these cubs,” said Dr. Taylor Yaw,
Chief Animal Care, Health, and Conservation Officer in a press release. “She has been attentive, nursing around the clock, and keeping the cubs groomed and by her side."

Dari and Putin, the male tiger that sired the cubs and passed away in March, successfully bred in late January according to the zoo, because I certainly wasn't there for that so I'll take their word for it.

Dari and Putin are also the parents of Vera, a cub born at the Minnesota Zoo in 2017 and eventually transferred to a zoo in Nebraska in 2019 as part of a breeding program.

According to the data, there are only an estimated 500 Amur Tigers remaining in the wild, which is why the zoo says that "coordinated breeding and conservation efforts between accredited institutions is critical for the survival of the global species."

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