September 5, 2006
It's been a busy couple of weeks here with the cubs. As I'm sure you know, they had their big debut this past Saturday and they seemed quite at home in the spotlight. The last remnants of a tropical storm were passing through Washington, D.C., so it was a very soggy day, but the cubs did not seem to mind at all. Actually, they were having a great time splashing in the puddles!
The preparations for the debut started a couple of weeks ago with their swim test. Early one morning we closed off the public area of the Great Cats circle. Soyono was moved to another part of the building, away from the enclosures that she usually shares with the cubs. Then the keepers opened the door to the big tiger yard.
The cubs were very brave and walked on out with almost no hesitation. It must have been overwhelming for them to see the outside world for the first time. It was their first experience of grass, dirt, and trees and their first glimpse of the sky. It was just the keepers, Jessie Cohen (the Zoo's photographer), and the cubs in the yard. The larger girl, Melati, went right into the water on her own and started swimming away from the shore. I got in the moat and followed her. It is not easy to swim in welders' gloves. Fortunately she stopped for a breather against the far wall or I don't know if I could have caught up. Clearly, she passed the swimming portion of the test!
The second thing the cubs have to be able to do if they are to go out in the yard with their mother is get out of the moat themselves. The problem was that Melati did not want to go back toward the shore. I would point her in that direction and she would turn and head off the wrong way. Even harder than swimming in welders' gloves is swimming in welders' gloves dragging about 22 pounds of uncooperative tiger with you. Once she was back at the shore, she got out with no problem whatsoever.
Next it was Mindy's turn with Maharani, the smaller of the two girls. Maharani inherited her father's big round eyes, which give her a deceptively wide-eyed and innocent look. Don't you believe it. She hunkered down in the most defendable place in the yard, a strip of concrete about eight inches wide with the moat on one side and a ten-foot drop into the stairs on the other. Mindy was doing a balance-beam routine worthy of a gold medal in the Olympics. She managed to get Maharani into the water without either herself or the cub falling onto the steps. Maharani was a strong swimmer as well and, fortunately, headed for the sill of a window overlooking the moat and not to the far side, as her sister did. Unfortunately, she was just as directionally challenged as her sister and it took two of us to get her back to the shore, where she climbed out with no problem. Maharani was the cub that had been limping, so we were relieved to see that she was back to 100 percent.
And now it was the Guntur's turn. While the girls were taking their first swims, their brother Guntur was crouched on the stairs ready to do battle. Once he realized that all the keepers were now focused on him, he headed down the stairs and had to be carried back up, and against his will placed in the water. He shared his sisters' love of deep water and off he went toward the same window as Maharani. He is much larger than his sisters and is more aggressive as well so it was quite a struggle to get him back on dry land. At one point he had his claws in a crack in the concrete and I had both feet against the wall, pulling on him without dislodging him. When we did get him back, he climbed out. Everyone had passed the test!
We then got all the people out of the yard and let Soyono, the cubs' mother, out with them. I'm sure she got quite an earful about what had been going on in her absence.
Since everyone was OK'ed to go outside, we started putting the cubs out with Soyono early every morning. This gave them a chance to get used to the yard, and for Soyono to feel comfortable with them being outside. At first they were calling to her all the time. When Soyono's first cub, Berani, called to her she would run to him every time. Now she is an experienced mother and knows the difference between a nervous cub and real distress. As long as they could see her and see that she was calm, they knew they were fine.
After a couple of days alone, we invited the keepers and other Zoo staff to come and see them. This gave the cubs a chance to get used to an audience. Gradually we increased the number of people, and held special previews for FONZ members before the debut. The cubs were now ready for Saturday, the big day.
It all went smoothly. Rokan, the cubs' father, went out in the smaller tiger yard with a terrific papier-mâché antelope made by some FONZ summer campers. He provided the backdrop for remarks from Zoo Director John Berry, the director of the Save The Tiger Fund, and the major programs advisor from ExxonMobil.
We then let the cubs out in the big yard. Soyono, as usual, held back and let the cubs go out first. Maybe she just wanted to enjoy a few moments of peace and quiet. Since the cubs are now going outside, they are together 24/7 and I think she needs a few minutes of "personal" time in her day. The cubs were just as playful and confident as possible and had a great time. The people who braved the rain got quite a show as a reward.
I hope everyone who has the opportunity will come and visit the cubs in the next few months. If you are not in the D.C. area you can look for the cubs on the web cams. They will be going outside at about 8 a.m. every day and will be staying out for at least two hours. As they get bigger and their stamina increases, they will be outside longer.
And a great big thank you! to all who voted for the cubs' names.
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