Three critically endangered Sumatran tiger cubs born at London Zoo

London Zoo has shared the first footage of an exciting arrival - three critically endangered Sumatran tiger cubs born last month.

Video taken by the Zoo’s hidden ‘cubcam’ shows ten-year-old mum Gaysha giving birth and tenderly cleaning the rare newborns – closely followed by dad Asim. ZSL London Zoo tiger keeper Kathryn Sanders said: “We were confident that Gaysha was pregnant and had estimated roughly how far along she was - when we observed her stomach grow noticeably in the past few weeks, we knew she was nearing full-term. “We prepared her a special indoor cubbing den, filled it with soft straw for comfort, and began a nightly vigil - monitoring her progress remotely on screen. "In the early hours of last Monday morning, Gaysha’s contractions began and I watched via live feed as she gave birth to one, two then three healthy cubs – I held my breath in awe the whole time!” The ten-day-old cubs will likely remain tucked away in the family’s indoor den for now until Gaysha decides it is time for them to explore the outdoor paddocks.

Kathryn added: “All three cubs are doing well in mum and dad’s devoted care and we’ve seen a key milestone already, with the strong little ones feeding and taking their first tentative steps almost immediately - the trio will also soon begin to open their eyes, which are always closed for the first few weeks after the birth. “While we’re keeping a close eye via cubcam, we’re also taking care not to disturb the family so that they can continue to bond together - we can’t wait to get to know the little ones as they grow bigger and begin to explore their surroundings.” The three cubs will be named after their first vaccinations at around three months of age, when vets and zookeepers will be able to confirm the cubs’ sexes.

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