Malayan Tiger Cub Comes To Cleveland Zoo

CLEVELAND — A two-month-old Malayan tiger cub has arrived at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.

The female cub — named Indrah — comes to Cleveland from the Tulsa Zoo. She joins two Amur tiger cubs born in Cleveland in late December. The trio will form a social group of two endangered subspecies of tigers.

“Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and Tulsa Zoo both recently celebrated the incredible births of endangered tiger cubs,” said Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Executive Director Chris Kuhar. “Socialization of tigers at an early age is incredibly important and raising these cubs as part of a unique social group will allow them to develop skills and behaviors together.”

Despite having the facilities to care for Indrah, the mother Amur tiger at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and the mother Malayan tiger at Tulsa Zoo did not bond with the cub. After monitoring Indrah, the decision was made to group her with Cleveland's two Amur cubs to foster essential behavior and social welfare.

The cubs are now being hand-reared together by a team of experts at the Cleveland Zoo's Sarah Allison Steffee Center for Zoological Medicine. Once they have gained adequate strength and fitness, they will be moved to the Rosebrough Tiger Passage.

“The decision to hand-rear cubs, and to transfer a cub, is never taken lightly. In this case it was clear the move was the best decision to ensure our cub would have an opportunity to benefit from being part of a social group. The transition also allows our zoo to continue to focus on our Tiger Species Survival Plan breeding recommendation for our Malayan tigers in 2021, to ensure their sustainable populations in AZA-accredited facilities,” said Tulsa Zoo Vice-President of Animal Conservation and Science Joe Barkowski.

Indrah's move to Cleveland was led by the Tiger Species Survival Plan (SSP) program. The Tiger SSP works with 230 zoos and aquariums to coordinate husbandry, conservation efforts and scientific opportunities.