July 20, 2008
The cubs are two years old now and have almost reached their full adult weight. Guntur weighs 242 pounds, Maharani is 191 pounds, and Melati (smallest in size, biggest in attitude) is 180 pounds. Even though they may be full grown according to the scale, they still are not quite "grownups" yet.
Guntur Grows Up
Within the next few months, we will probably see Guntur lose 20 or 30 pounds for no apparent reason and then gain it back. When the pounds come back on, they will be in different places. He will have more muscle on his head and shoulders and seem trimmer in the hips. He will look more "manly," more like his father, Rokan. This will be a signal that he has become fully mature and is old enough to breed.
We have already seen a change in Rokan’s attitude toward Guntur. Guntur still “chuffs” at his father in a friendly manner when he passes nearby, but now Rokan doesn’t “chuff” back. Sometimes he even gives his son a warning bark, as though to say “back off.” This is because he no longer sees Guntur as Soyono’s cub but as another adult male and a possible rival.
In the wild, two adult male tigers would not share any territory and so we will have to keep Guntur and Rokan away from each other as much as possible. You will probably see a lot more territorial marking with urine in the yards, and we will all be hearing a lot more vocalizing from both of them.
Maharani and Melati Mature
The last time we had a female tiger become fully adult here at the Zoo was when the cubs' mother, Soyono, reached maturity, about 13 years ago. None of the keepers who are here now were here then so we have no firsthand experience with what changes we will see.
We think each of the girls may have had a hormonal cycle recently. Adult female tigers go through a monthly “heat” when they are receptive to males and can breed. Each of the girls went through a couple of days when they did not eat much and both Guntur and Rokan seemed more interested in them. It wasn’t the same as what we have seen in adult females, but is probably the beginning of their becoming adults.
Fun and the Future
In an earlier diary entry, the cubs (back when they were all still together) got a PVC rattle in the yard and we had some great pictures of the cubs playing with it. Recently, they got the rattle and Tracey, one of the keepers, got some pictures of Maharani and Melati playing with it. They gave it a real workout! When Guntur got to play with it, he actually broke the tree branch, which was about eight inches thick.
I know everyone would like to know if and when and where the cubs will be going—so would we!—but we don’t know the answers yet. We want to be sure good matches are made for them, so we will be working with the Sumatran tiger Species Survival Program to find the best possible homes for them.
 Read the previous entry. |
