October 13
The cubs are really getting big now. They range in size from 215 to 250 pounds! Marah is the smallest of the litter, but we checked our records and he is just about the same size his older brother Berani (born in September 2001) was at the same age. Actually he is a few pound heavier. So it seems that it's not that he is small but that his brothers, Besar and Jalan, are so big.
They still spend their evenings inside with their mother, Soyono, but are more and more independent of her, just as they would be in the wild. When they become completely independent would depend on a number of factors, such as how plentiful game was in her territory. But any time from 18 months of age onward, cubs can expect to get their walking papers from their mother. This is nature's way of making sure that territories do not get overhunted and reduceing the risk of inbreeding. Since mother and father tigers' territories would overlap, it's best for the cubs to move on before the father stops seeing them as cubs and starts seeing them as rivals, which would happen at about three years of age. In a way this is the same reason that our boys will probably be moving on soon.
The National Zoo is part of a Species Survival Program (SSP) for Sumatran tigers through the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. This program makes recommendations as to who should go where to breed with whom. It makes sure that the captive population remains genetically healthy and insures that no one individual is over-represented in the population. So far we haven't heard anything definite, but the rumor is that one or more of the boys could be leaving before the end of the year! We will just have to wait and see.
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