Topeka Zoo welcomes 4 Sumatran tiger cubs; species is critically endangered

TOPEKA — Hundreds of people watched as streaming webcams captured a Sumatran tiger giving birth to four cubs in Topeka.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that their 8-year-old mother, named Jingga, immediately began nursing and caring for the cubs after their births early Monday. This is Jingga’s second set of cubs and 400 to 600 people watched their arrival thanks to the KTWU public television webcams.

The genders of the cubs weren’t immediately available. Jingga has been at the zoo since 2012. Their first-time father is 7-year-old Sanjiv.

Sumatran tigers are critically endangered, with less than 500 left in the wild. Thirty zoos in North America manage a population of 78 tigers with a goal of increasing the population to 150. The zoo posted a picture on Facebook of the cubs snuggled together.

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