Tiger Training Weigh-In
Posted at 12:39 pm October 14, 2005 by Bridget MulhollandMata and Rimba's training is moving along very well. Today they got their first weigh-in after starting the training program. Rimba's weight is 23.5kg (or 51.7 pounds) and Mata's weight is 22.5kg (49.5 pounds). Mata has been the smaller of the two ever since birth, but both of the boys are larger than any of the six other Indochinese tiger cubs that have been born at the San Diego Zoo at 4 ½ months of age. In fact, they weighed more than any of the others even at 4 days old! We definitely have a couple of strapping young tiger cubs!
Today was the first day that the cubs were weighed during a training session, but prior to this I had been weighing them daily, starting at 4 days old, and ending at 4 months of age. At that point they were just too rambunctious for me to pick them up and put them on a scale anymore. So, I started training them to step on the scale by themselves, and then stand still long enough for me to get an accurate weight. Both boys did really well today, and they were rewarded with lots of meatballs!
Currently, each cub is offered 775 grams of zoo carnivore meat (ground beef) daily. They have also been observed sharing some of their mom's meat as well. On top of that, they are still nursing for long periods of time a few times a day! They will probably continue to nurse until about six months of age, which is when Mek will most likely start to wean them.
Bridget Mulholland is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo's Tiger River exhibit.
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October 14th, 2005 at 2:32 pm
What beautiful and bright animals! It is such a treat to stay informed through your great information. I know your work must include a variety of different duties, some less glamorous than others, but all must be vital to the health and future of this incredible species. You and your colleagues do a terrific job.
October 16th, 2005 at 9:23 pm
You say that you are feeding the tigers zoo carnivore meat - specifically ground beef. Is ground beef the only meat fed to carnivores or do some of the animals eat other raw meats like chicken? Was beef a choice because the tigers prefer it or because it's safer for them? After all, 23 tigers at a zoo in Thailand contracted bird flu and died…
I understand why tigers couldn't be fed living meals - there's too much potential for harming the animal or causing hunting behavior that isn't a good idea for a zoo animal. Assuming you only use ground beef, why do you grind it? I've always heard that whole meat pieces are " safer" than ground meats - especially raw or in humans' case rare. The grinding process introduces a higher potential for contaminants. So why the grinding?
Just one last question… as part of Mata and Rimba's training, are you giving them treats so that they become conditioned to take meds and vitamins as needed? If so, what kinds of treats do they like?
Thanks for sharing!
Laurie Darcey
October 17th, 2005 at 8:14 am
Thanks for the update on these wonderful tigers. I appreciate all of the work that you and your colleagues do to take such good care of the animals. Keep up the good work and thanks for continuing to share with us.