May 12, 2008 6:28 pm US/Eastern
Zoo's Amur Tiger Delivers Mother's Day Surprise
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
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Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium/KDKA
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Toma, an Amur tiger at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, gave birth to a cub over the weekend
Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium/KDKA
There's a new addition at the Pittsburgh Zoo.
Over the weekend, Toma, the zoo's Amur tiger, gave birth to a male cub -- early on Mother's Day morning!
Toma gave birth at about 4:45 a.m. Sunday.
The staff took the cub to an animal hospital. The cub is being bottle-fed every four hours and will be re-introduced to his mother.
Toma is also mother to the Petya and Mara, the cubs born in August 2006. A third cub born in that litter did not survive.
Zoo President and CEO Dr. Barbara Baker says it's not that unusual for a tiger to have just one cub. "Most litters are two to three cubs," Dr. Baker explained in a news release, "but it is not unusual to just have one."
Amur tigers are an endangered species, with only 400 living in the wild and 190 in zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
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