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London Zoo cameras capture tiger giving birth | |
(about 17 hours later) | |
Hidden cameras have captured the moment London Zoo's first tiger cub for 17 years was born. | Hidden cameras have captured the moment London Zoo's first tiger cub for 17 years was born. |
Five-year-old Sumatran tiger Melati gave birth to the cub on 22 September after a six-minute labour. | Five-year-old Sumatran tiger Melati gave birth to the cub on 22 September after a six-minute labour. |
The pregnancy, which lasted about 15 weeks, was kept secret by zookeepers who are "over the moon" about the cub. | |
It was born six months after the opening of the "tiger territory", designed to encourage the endangered sub-species of tiger to breed. | |
'Something special' | |
BBC correspondent Emma North said the cub was the product of a "whirlwind romance". | |
Senior zookeeper Paul Kybett explained: "They came from opposite ends of the globe. Melati joined us from Perth at the end of September last year. | |
"Jae Jae came from Ohio. When they first saw each other they made the lovely sneezy purr kind of noise that they make. | |
"When we introduced them for the first time he trotted up to her and gave her a big head rub so we knew we were going to be getting something quite special." | |
He added: "When it came to her due date, we were all watching our monitors with bated breath. | |
"The actual birth happened very quickly and Melati's maternal instincts kicked in immediately. | |
"We couldn't have asked for a smoother birth. | |
"It's still very early days, so we're leaving Melati to take care of her adorable baby, and our cameras allow us to watch them both from a distance. | |
"So far she's proving to be a doting mum." | "So far she's proving to be a doting mum." |
Malcolm Fitzpatrick, curator of mammals at the zoo, said the birth was very important for the global zoo tiger population. | |
He said: "This tiger's one of the most important births in Europe this year." | |
Zookeepers do not yet know the sex of the cub, which is in the exhibit's cubbing den with its mother and will remain away from the public for several weeks. | |
The cub is the grandchild of the zoo's last tiger cub, Hari, the father of Melati. | The cub is the grandchild of the zoo's last tiger cub, Hari, the father of Melati. |
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