Tiger cubs thriving after shaky start at Pittsburgh zoo

Officials at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium on Tuesday showed off two Amur tiger cubs who were rejected by their mother when they were born in September.

After the cubs — a brother and sister — were born Sept. 25, veterinary staff quickly noticed that 10-year-old mom Tierney showed little interest in her cubs or caring for them. Within 24 hours, veterinarians chose to remove the cubs from Tierney's care.

“This is the last thing that we want to do is have to step in and hand-rear tiger cubs,” said Dr. Ginger Sturgeon, the zoo's director of animal health. “Mom tigers know what to do best.”

Several Amur tiger litters have been born and successfully raised at the Pittsburgh zoo, but, Sturgeon said, every situation is different. Similar circumstances have arisen before, she said.

“We were very fortunate in this situation in that there are two cubs present, and that's really important for their socialization,” she said.

The cubs have been living in the zoo's Animal Care Center but will soon be moved to one of the cat buildings so they may acclimate to the colder temperatures and begin to socialize with other cats.

Kathy Suthard, lead carnivore keeper, said the ultimate goal is to reintroduce the cubs to either Tierney or a substitute mother such as the zoo's matriarch tiger, Toma, who has raised a number of litters.

Sturgeon said that although veterinarians had to step in to care for the Amur cubs, they do not treat them as you would a kitten or puppy.

“We want them to grow up to be tigers,” she said.

Amur tigers are endangered and teetered on the brink of extinction in the 1940s, with only about 40 wild tigers remaining at one point, according to the World Wildlife Foundation. Conservation efforts have boosted the number of Amur tigers in the wild to about 540.

Megan Guza is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 412-380-8519, mguza@tribweb.com or via Twitter @meganguzaTrib.