July 1
The boys continue growing well—just over two pounds apiece this week. Each week they get a little more difficult to catch up to. The smallest one has already figured out that favorite cat trick of rolling over on to his back so he can go after you with all four sets of claws. I was quite surprised and more than a little impressed. Berani, the cubs' older brother, didn't do that until he was about a month older than these cubs are. A prodigy!
The cubs are eight weeks old this week, so they got their first shots on Monday. Just like domestic cats, the tigers here at the Zoo receive inoculations against such diseases as rabies and feline leukemia. They didn't like it much, but 
everyone was brave and no one yowled. We really appreciated the last part since Soyono becomes very upset with the keepers when she is outside and hears her cubs fuss. It's never good to have a tiger angry at you.
Speaking of names, the keepers came up with a list of possible names for the cubs, and I understand that visitors to the website will be voting on them in a few weeks. Another good reason besides 
cub cam to visit us virtually!
A couple of weeks ago I said I would tell you a little more about Rokan, the cubs' father. He was born on September 6, 1990, in San Antonio, Texas. His parents were both on loan to San Antonio, his father from Rotterdam and his mother from San Diego. From San Antonio he went to the Alexandria Zoological Park in Louisiana. In 1997 he came to the National Zoo in a trade. We sent Jalal, Soyono's brother, to Alexandria and they sent Rokan to us. This was all done on the advice of the Species Survival Program that we are part of through the American Aquarium and Zoological Association.
Since coming to the National Zoo, Rokan has fathered three litters of cubs, one with Kerinci, and two with Soyono, for a total of seven cubs. And one of those, Chrissie in Fort Wayne, Indiana, recently made Rokan a grandfather by having a litter of three cubs herself. Since there are fewer that 700 Sumatran tigers in the world every birth is important, but we are even more excited when it's a tiger we know having the cubs!
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