These are the first moments on earth of two of the world’s rarest tiger cubs, who were born this week at London Zoo.
The as-yet unsexed twins were born to seven-year-old Sumatran tigress Melati, on Monday, after a 108-day pregnancy, and zookeepers managed to capture their birth on hidden cameras.
Keeping a close eye on the pregnant tigress, zookeepers noticed she was going into labour and monitored the delivery using a remote camera system nicknamed cubcam.
They watched as the first cub arrived at 9.19am, before the second was born at 10.02am.
After they were thoroughly licked clean by Melati, the youngsters nestled in for their first feed.
Melati and her cubs, who have yet to open their eyes, remain largely tucked away together inside their special cubbing dens with the mother occasionally venturing outside for food.
There are estimated to be as few as 300 Sumatran tigers in the wild, and so the cubs represent a huge achievement for ZSL London Zoo and the global breeding programme of the critically endangered species.
Assistant curator of mammals Teague Stubbington said: “We’re overjoyed with our new arrivals, and with how Melati is responding to her two cubs.
“The cubcam allows us to observe the youngsters 24/7 while not disturbing mum or dad at all, which is ideal while they get to know their babies.
“One of us is always on duty to keep an eye on the little ones throughout the night. Dad Jae Jae has also been spotted taking a peek at his new-borns.”
ZSL works in Indonesia to protect wild Sumatran tigers, and country manager Andjar Rafiastanto said: “This is exciting news for the Sumatran tiger, a flagship species for the ZSL conservation programme in Indonesia.
“ZSL has been in Sumatra for more than 14 years, working with our government counterparts to increase the protection of Sumatran tigers. The birth of these two tiger cubs brings us hope for their long-term survival.”
While mum Melati relaxes with her babies, visitors to ZSL London Zoo can still see eight-year-old dad Jae Jae in the zoo's Tiger Territory enclosure.
Zookeepers will also be revealing exclusive cubcam footage on ZSL’s YouTube channel.
