Critically endangered Malayan tiger Banya sniffs to one of her cubs in their enclosure at the zoo in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017. Two cubs, a male and a female were born on Oct 3, 2017. So far, only two European zoos managed to breed this subspecies of tiger, last time the zoo in Halle, Germany in 2013. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
November 14, 2017 - 5:50 AM
PRAGUE, Czech Republic - A keeper says twin Malayan tigers born in Prague Zoo have a good chance of survival, a rare success for any zoo on the European continent.
The cubs, a male and a female, were born on Oct 3. So far, only two European zoos have managed to breed this subspecies of tiger, most recently a zoo in Halle, Germany, in 2013.
There are only a few hundred Malayan tigers surviving in the wild in Asia and they are classified as critically endangered.
A key obstacle for breeding is that the males are too often aggressive toward their female partners. Other problems include the inability of the mother to take care of the cubs, and diseases.
Keeper Pavel Brandl says the 11-year-old mother, Banya, has been doing well and the two are fine.
They will get names in December.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017