M

EDAN: A Sumatran tiger gave birth to three cubs at Medan Zoo in North Sumatra on Monday, in what could be a breakthrough in the government’s efforts to preserve the critically endangered species.

“Their genders have not been determined because they are still under their mother’s supervision,” said Sucitrawan, the zoo’s head of animal health, as quoted by detik.com.

“We will check on them later when they have grown a little bigger.”

Sucitrawan said that there were very few Sumatran tigers left in the wild, and that the births could be deemed as an achievement in maintaining the tiger’s population. “Today it is estimated that there are only 150 Sumatran tigers [in the wild], so the birth of these three cubs was a success story of habitat conservation efforts,” Sucitrawan said.

Monday’s births have increased the zoo’s total number of Sumatran tigers in its care to eight.