Article: Zoo celebrates birth of cubs

Monday July 13, 2009

By MOHD FARHAAN SHAH

JOHOR BARU: Saleng Zoo had welcomed new additions to its family with three Siberian Bengal tiger cubs born two months ago.

Zoo caretaker J. Sivapriyan said the zoo now has a total of 19 tigers.

"I've named them Hassan and Samad, both two months old and Kuchir who is a month old.

"Each tiger has its own markings based on its stripes much like our fingerprints. That's how we tell them apart," he said, adding that all three tiger cubs were healthy.

Cats out of the bag: Sivapriyan holding Hassan (right) and Kuchir while zoo visitor Wani Rassit pets Samad at the Saleng Zoo.

Both Hassan and Samad are the offspring of 10-year-old Putra and eight-year-old Ruby, while Kuchir's parents are 16-year-old Kumba and 13-year-old Rainbow.

Sivapriyan, who has been working at the zoo for 11 years, said the number of tigers born at Saleng Zoo had been growing steadily.

"The mating season for tigers is March and September, and they are very active and aggressive at this time.

"Each tiger has a partner as we do not want inbreeding in our zoo," he said, adding that tigers will mate about 50 times a day during the mating season.

Sivapriyan added that during the mating season, the zoo would be "quite lively" as the tigers would be very loud.

He said that all the tigers were treated well and listened to his commands.

Visitors can take pictures with all three tiger cubs at the zoo for RM15.

The zoo opens daily from 9.30am to 7pm. Entrance fee is RM12 for adults and RM6 for children. It is located at Lot 3777, Batu 17 1/2, Jalan Raya, Saleng, Senai, Johor.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Nation 13 July 2009