How Do We Tell The Cubs Apart?
I am often asked how we tell the cubs apart. Each tiger’s stripes are unique. As a matter of fact, the stripes on a tiger's left side do not even match the stripes on its right. When scientists study tigers in the wild by setting up camera traps (cameras that automatically take a picture when an animal steps in front of it), they have to use two cameras. That way they can see both sides of the tiger at once and won’t count the left side and right side of the same cat as two separate animals. So you would think that it would be easy to tell the cubs apart. This is not the case, at least in the beginning.
When the cubs were about two weeks old, they had their first exam. We found out if we had boys or girls, gave them a quick once-over, checking teeth, eyes, noses, and other features. But we also took a “mug shot” of each one with its ID number. Later on we studied the pictures looking for distinguishing stripes so that we could keep track of each animal individually. We needed to be sure each cub was gaining weight and we couldn’t do that if we weren’t sure that 114107 was always 114107 (who was later named Melati) and not sometimes her sister.
At two weeks of age, the cubs were very fuzzy and the markings were not clear. But as they grew, it became easier to see the differences.
Telling tigers apart is a skill, and like any other skill the more you use it the better it becomes. Since the keepers look at tigers all the time what seems obvious to us may not seem so clear to everyone else. We also see family resemblances. Maharani looks like her dad, Melati looks like her mom, and Guntur is a little of both. So with a little practice you should have no trouble telling the kids apart.
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| Maharani |
Melati has a more pronounced line over her left eye, as though she was cocking her eyebrow. Maharani’s markings are not symmetrical but appear very balanced and even as though they were. Guntur is the easiest since he has two thick spots on his forehead, unlike anything on the two girls. I have made some simple sketches with the features I use highlighted in red.
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| Melati | Maharani | Guntur |
This terrific picture taken by Janice Sveda, a member of the FONZ Photo Club, shows all three cubs' full faces and is perfect for seeing their different features. Maharani is in the upper left corner, Melati is beside her, and Guntur is in front.
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