Longtime fans of the Beardsley Zoo fondly remember when the Amur tiger cubs were born to Changbai, November 25, 2017. Two of the four cubs survived, but were rejected by their mom and were hand-raised by zoo staff.
We watched them grow from cute, clumsy babies to beautiful, elegant adults. We celebrated their birthday and said goodbye as they were sent to continue the circle of life at other zoos.
In 2020, our lovely Zeya was sent to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York and apparently got along perfectly with her mate, Thimbu. She had two cubs, a male, Zuzaan, and a female, Soba (pronounced ‘Zova’) on April 29, 2023.
This is how Zoo Curator Dan Meates described Rosamond’s Amur Tiger conservation experience.
This is Zeya’s first litter of cubs, and the first litter of cubs fathered by male Amur tiger Thimbu. So, understandably, our animal care specialists were uncertain how the adults would react towards each other when introduced.
In the wild, adult tigers can act unpredictably and often aggressively toward each other. Zeya was hand-raised, which is why the animal care team was watching the process so closely, as it was uncertain how Zeya would react to cubs. Staff wasn’t sure what to expect, given that Zeya never got to witness what a mother Amur tiger provides for her cubs. In fact, Zeya’s mother rejected her and her sister Reka, leaving animal care staff at Beardsley Zoo with no choice but to hand rear the little Amur tiger cubs. Unlike her mother, though, Zeya immediately bonded with her cubs, and has been an exceptional mother in the days since their birth.
“For Zeya, motherhood was completely instinctual,” Meates said. “It’s not often that you get to witness an Amur tiger become a mother, and even rarer to observe one that was raised by humans doing such a good job of raising her own cubs.”
Rosamond Gifford Zoo visitors are just as invested in these cubs as we were in Zeya and Reka.
Another New Mom
Three Amur tiger cubs were born at the Saint Louis Zoo on Monday, Nov. 13, 2023. Their births are important for the survival of this critically endangered big cat.