Two Endangered Sumatran Tiger Cubs Born at Smithsonian National Zoo

A rare Sumatran tiger gave birth to two cubs on August 5 at DC's Smithsonian National Zoo.

Two rare Sumatran tiger cubs born to Damai and a 12-year-old male tiger Kavi, are a part of a special conservation program aimed at saving the critically endangered tigers in the wild.

First-time mom Damai gave birth to her first cub at 6.15 p.m. and the second one at 8.23 p.m. The newly born cubs that have not opened their eyes yet are doing fine and are under constant watch. Damai is being a good mom and is seen nursing and grooming both the cubs, according to a press release by Smithsonian.

The zoo will not put the cubs on exhibit for the time being so as to give them time to bond with  the mom. The progress of the two cubs can be viewed on the Zoo's tiger cub cams.

"It's taken more than two years of perseverance getting to know Damai and Kavi and letting them get to know each other so that we could reach this celebratory moment," Craig Saffoe, committee member of the Smithsonian National Zoo, said in a news release. "All I can do is smile because the team has realized our goal of producing critically endangered tiger cubs. Damai came to us as a young tiger herself, so it's really special to see her become a great mom."

The zoo staff was happy to see that Damai allowed the keepers to examine the cubs. This indicated that Damai was comfortable with the keepers being close to her cubbing den. And once inside she did not mover her cubs away, signaling she was not anxious or frightened of the keepers' presence.

In was in June that the keepers and zoo vets started monitoring Damai as they noticed her gaining weight and displaying behavior that indicated she was expecting. With the help of ultrasounds conducted on June 21, they confirmed that Damai was pregnant. Damai and Kavi  mated several times between December 2012 -April 2013.

According to reports, there are less than 500 Sumatran tigers in the wild and the birth of these cubs is a welcome addition to the conservation efforts.

The zoo is expecting additional members soon as the zoo's female giant panda is also displaying behavior that indicates she is pregnant.