June 2
Soyono is giving the cubs more and more freedom to roam around the enclosures—but only when she is inside. In the wild, a mother tiger would need to hunt to feed herself. It would be very dangerous if her cubs started exploring while she was gone, so their instincts tell them that when Mom goes away they should just curl up quietly and sleep. Of course, Soy doesn't have to hunt but she does spend a couple of hours outside each day, and when she goes out her boys do what comes naturally and snooze until she comes back.
They are growing like weeds—gaining about two pounds a week right now. By May 31, their weights had climbed to 8.5, 8.84, and 9.03 pounds—the cubs have quadrupled in size since they were born four weeks ago!
We are still leaving them alone as much as possible (Soy insists!), but even with the small amount of contact when we weigh them, we can see individual personalities starting to develop. The smallest boy is also the feistiest, but they all have a lot of spunk.
The IT team has set up a monitor in the Bat Cave so visitors can have the same view of the cubs that we keepers have. We hope the cubs will be ready to go outside with their mom in late summer!
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