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May 16, 2008 2:27 pm US/Eastern
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Pittsburgh Zoo To Hand-Raise New Tiger Cub
HIGHLAND PARK (KDKA) ―
For the first time since 1982, the veterinary staff at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium will hand-raise a newborn tiger cub after its mother rejected it.
Zoo officials say Toma, a female Amur Tiger, showed no interest in caring for her new male cub.
Since Toma was not producing much milk, which could have led her to reject the cub, zoo veterinarians tried to medicate Toma so she would produce more.
Unfortunately, that did not work.
After another rejection, they decided that it would be in the cub's best interest to separate mother and cub permanently and hand-raise him.
There's still an opportunity for bonding. The tiger's eyes are still closed and it will be another 14 days before he opens them and looks up to see what his mom looks like.
The cub isn't out of the woods yet. The staff says it will be six to eight weeks before they know if he's developing properly.
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