Animal
13:15, 04-Mar-2019
Six South China tiger cubs growing well in central China zoo
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Six South China tiger cubs born earlier this year are growing stronger and will soon meet the public at a zoo in Luoyang City, central China's Henan Province.
The cubs, three male and three female, were born at the Wangcheng Park Zoo in Luoyang on January 10 and the next day.
The South China tiger is listed as "critically endangered" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list and is under first-class state protection in China.
Three alerted South China tiger cubs born in a zoo in Luoyang, central China's Henan Province. /VCG Photo
Three alerted South China tiger cubs born in a zoo in Luoyang, central China's Henan Province. /VCG Photo
"After almost two months of artificial feeding, the average weight of the tiger cubs already exceeds 2.5 kilograms. Currently, the six tiger cubs are all in good health. They have lots of exercises and are all quite spirited," said Liu Zhaoyang, the deputy head of the zoo.
A South China tiger cub learns to crawl in a zoo in Luoyang, central China's Henan Province. /VCG Photo
A South China tiger cub learns to crawl in a zoo in Luoyang, central China's Henan Province. /VCG Photo
The last time a South China tiger was seen in the wild was in the 1990s in the Xishui Nature Reserve in southwest China's Guizhou Province. The remaining 177 tigers are all in captivity.
With the six newborns, Luoyang is now home to the largest population of South China tigers in the country, 38 in total.
According to Liu, the cubs are expected to meet the public sometime next month.
(Cover image via VCG)
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