Seized Tiger Cub Gets New Pal At San Diego Zoo Safari Park

SAN DIEGO, CA — A tiger cub seized during an alleged smuggling attempt from Mexico last month has a new pal at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. A 9-week-old male Sumatran cub at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., was flown to San Diego Monday to join the male Bengal cub confiscated in August at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.

The cub from the Smithsonian's National Zoo has been fed by humans since the beginning of August because its mother either wasn't producing enough milk or had stopped milk production altogether.

The mother, named Damai, began displaying aggressive behavior toward the cub when he tried to nurse, National Zoo officials said. They ended up having to separate the two, and while the cub indicated that he wanted to see the mother, she didn't reciprocate.

Craig Saffoe, curator of Great Cats at the National Zoo, said his team had "mixed emotions" about sending the cub to the West Coast.

"As his caretakers, we've done everything in our power to help him survive, thrive and socialize with his mother so that he can grow up to be a healthy tiger," Saffoe said.

"Now that Damai is no longer displaying the maternal behaviors we once saw, our best option is to pair him with the cub at San Diego Zoo," he added. "Having another tiger that is about his age to interact with will be tremendously beneficial to the both of them. They’ll be able to play, wrestle and learn how to be tigers together, which is instrumental to his long-term social development.”

The Bengal tiger was rescued Aug. 23 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers who found him while inspecting a vehicle that was entering the country from Mexico. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officers brought the cub, estimated to be about 2 months old, to the Paul Harter Veterinary Hospital at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, where veterinary staff examined the cub and determined that he was in good health. He has been at the Safari Park ever since.

The 18-year-old driver of the car, Luis Eudoro Valencia, of Perris, was charged in federal court in San Diego on suspicion of smuggling a Bengal tiger cub into the U.S.

Sumatran tigers are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It is estimated that between 300 and 400 exist in the wild.

The IUCN lists the Bengal tiger as endangered, with roughly 1,700 in the wild.

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Tiger Cub Seized At US-Mexico Border

Confiscated Tiger Cub In Good Condition At San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Images of Sumatran tiger cub via National Zoo