Anna, a 13-year-old tiger at the zoo, gave birth to Yuri on May 11. Yuri's birth marked the first time a tiger was born at the zoo in more than 20 years.
This summer and fall he was in an exhibit by himself because his mom liked to carry Yuri around. And while that's not unusual, she had a tendency to carry him around a lot and opened up a couple little cuts on his shoulder. The zoo stitched him up and tried to put him back with her but she kept licking him and opened the wounds again.
At about 28 pounds, Yuri is growing fast. Amur tigers are the largest tigers in the world. Yuri's dad weighs four hundred pounds.
This species of tiger, Amur tigers, are endangered and he's genetically important to that group, so eventually he will be moved to a different zoo. It important for him to get out and start his own family. But in the meantime, Yuri is becoming familiar with this new outdoor, public environment and is adapting very well.
"He’s a typical tiger. He'll track you a little bit, he's very playful at the moment and he'll do things - he's learning to stalk and those natural behaviors that a tiger would have, which is great," Mitchell says.
I know I took a ton of photos... but seriously, I couldn't stop!
1 comments:
awesome pics!! he's so cute! i want to see him!!
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