ST. LOUIS — For the first time in more than a decade, three tiger cubs have been born at the St. Louis Zoo.
The Amur tiger cubs, who were born on Nov. 13, represent a species that is “considered one of the most endangered big cats in the world,” with fewer than 500 left in the wild, zoo officials said in a statement announcing the birth.
The cubs and their 5-year-old mother, Reka, will remain outside of public viewing for the next several months to allow time for the cubs to grow large enough to navigate their outdoor habitat at the zoo. The cubs’ father, Maxim, an 11-year-old tiger who came to the zoo in 2022 from Indianapolis, can be seen by the public in his habitat at Big Cat Country.
“In the coming weeks, the cubs will receive their first well-baby check by the Zoo’s Veterinary Care team,” zoo officials said in a statement. The zoo will announce the name of the three cubs following the health check-up.
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The zoo’s animal care team is using cameras to watch Reka and her three cubs. Reka, who moved to the St. Louis Zoo from Connecticut in 2021, is described by zoo officials as “an attentive mom,” who is cleaning, feeding the cubs and keeping them warm.
Additional updates about the tiger cubs can be found online at stlzoo.org/TigerCubs.
The tiger cubs and their parents are Amur tigers, a species of tigers that once lived throughout much of Siberia and the surrounding region of Russia. The species has faced “high risk of extinction” in the wild due to habitat loss, poaching, human-wildlife conflict and other factors.
The species was once called Siberian tigers by zoologists and members of the public. However, because of their smaller numbers, the species is no longer found in Siberia and are not typically called by that name.
Their new name comes from the Amur River in eastern Russia, along the border between Russia and northeastern China.