The cub was born at the San Francisco Zoo this past weekend

Feb 15, 2013 08:11 GMT  ·  By

The news broke that, this past weekend, a Sumatran tigress living in captivity at the San Francisco Zoo gave birth to a healthy cub.

For the time being, Sumatran tigers are listed as a critically endangered species, and many conservationists maintain that, all things considered, only 400 such big cats are currently living in the wilderness.

The major threats this species has to face are habitat destruction and their being hunted by poachers.

Because of this, the birth of this cub brings new hope as far as saving the species from extinction is concerned.

Presently, the gender of this newborn baby tiger is unknown. However, it will only be about two more weeks before the cub will undergo its first medical examination and zoo employees will be able to figure out whether it is a he or a she.

It is to be expected that, once this issue is sorted out, the cub will also receive a suitable name. TVNZ reports that the Sumatran tiger cub born at the San Francisco Zoo is now busy bonding with its 9-year-old mother, Leanne. As zoo employee Corinne MacDonald explains, “All signs seem to be positive so far. Mom and cub are bonding.”

The staff working at this animal sanctuary wish to make as little contact with them as possible, so as to allow them to grow accustomed to one another without any human interference.

However, both the cub and its mother are kept a close eye on with the help of a webcam hidden in their enclosure.

The same source informs us that this tiger cub was fathered by a male named Larry, which had to travel all the way from the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans in order to meet Leanne and try to win her over.

By the looks of it, the tiger cub will only get to spend about a year and a half at the San Francisco Zoo, after which it will be transferred to some other animal sanctuary and integrated into various breeding programs.