July 29
Everyone is back on track and gaining weight. The littlest cub decided that maybe this meat stuff isn't so bad after all. He gained a little over two pounds this last week, after losing a quarter of a pound the week before, and is now nearly 21 pounds. The "big guy" is just over 25 pounds, only a couple of ounces more than the middle-weight cub after his very impressive three-pound gain this week. I hope you voted on names for the cubs!
The boys got the last of the three-part series of shots that all our cats get to protect them from various viral diseases, such as distemper and feline leukemia. The only one left is the vaccination against rabies, which won't be given until they are four months old.
This week is the last time we'll be able to weigh the cubs for a while. They have gotten too big and obstreperous to be picked up and handled safely, so now we will just have to wait until they have grown enough to get up on the scale that the adult tigers use. As long as we can see that they are eating and active, knowing their precise weights is not essential.
And they are active! They seem to be almost constantly running and wrestling with each other. All this play has a purpose. They are developing strength and coordination. Remember back in May when they couldn't take two steps in a row without toppling over? And the games help them develop important hunting skills. 
Tune into the cub cam and you may see the boys stalking each other and Soyono before pouncing, and sometimes even "going for the throat" just as they would as adults in the wild, going after prey animals.
If they were in the wild, Soyono might even bring them a small wounded animal to practice on. I know it sounds cruel but this is how cats learn to hunt. They can't simply go out one day and take down an 800-pound guar with hooves and horns without having learned how from their mom, with smaller, safer animals. If your house cat has ever brought you an injured mouse or bird she was doing the same thing for you! She is giving you the opportunity to learn how to survive in her world, to learn how to be a predator. It is just the same as a human mother teaching her child how to walk and talk, to learn the skills that any of us will need to function in the world that we live in. But for now it is just play to the cubs, and they are having a blast!
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