Two critically endangered Sumatran tiger cubs emerged from their den for the first time Thursday at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
The cubs, born July 12, stepped out to explore their outdoor habitat, delighting wildlife care staff and volunteers.
The nonprofit San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance revealed the cubs’ names in September – the female cub is Puteri (pronounced Poo-tear-e), which means “princess” in Malay, and the male cub is Hutan (pronounced Hoo-taan), which means “forest.”
They are the offspring of first-time mother Diana and father Dumai and are the first cubs of their species to be born at the Safari Park’s Tull Family Tiger Trail habitat in seven years.
The births resulted from a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Sumatran Tiger Species Survival Plan (SSP). Managed by conservationists nationwide, each SSP program aims to ensure genetic diversity and healthy, self-sustaining populations of threatened and endangered wildlife.
Listed as “critically endangered” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature‘s Red List of Threatened Species, Sumatran tigers’ numbers are dwindling – only an estimated 400 to 600 remain on Earth.
The wildlife alliance called the cubs “a significant contribution to the global population of this tiger species.”
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance works with partners in Asia through the Asian Rainforest Conservation Hub to end poaching and wildlife trafficking, while developing long-term plans to protect critically endangered Sumatran tigers.
Individuals can support the Alliance’s work with a symbolic tiger adoption, supporting conservation efforts to save tigers and their habitats.