Rare Sumatran Tigress Eats Her Two 5-Week-Old Cubs, The Question Is Why?

In sad news from the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo in Israel, a rare Sumatran tigress, called Chana, ate her two 5-week-old cubs, before zookeepers could intervene to try and stop her.

After giving birth on November 17 to the cubs, Chana seemed to be caring for her youngsters, allowing zookeepers to sit back and watch via closed-circuit video cameras positioned in her den.

Zookeepers, who had planned on entering the enclosure for the first time on Monday to perform a check-up on the twins, and to give them vaccines, were shocked when there was no sign of them when they entered the enclosure.

The Israeli publication Haaretz reported that the eating of the cubs is made worse by the fact that there are only an estimated 700 Sumatran tigers left in the world.

As the publication reported, Chana gave birth after a successful courtship with a male tiger named Avigdor, which was her fourth litter at the zoo.

Sadly, two previous sets of cubs died shortly after birth, and following her third litter in 2009, she abandoned her cub. In that instance, zookeepers managed to save the cub, and named him Sylvester.

Chana isn’t the first — and surely not the last — rare Sumatran tigress to consume her young, as it is well-known that many tigers, in both captivity and the wild, are known to eat their cubs for a variety of reasons, including stress, lack of food, and a desire to mate.

Zoo veterinarian and zoological manager Nili Avnei Magen told the Israeli publication, “This is disappointing and very, very sad, This was a complete surprise. We truly thought we were beyond this and that she was on the right path, and we had already planned the next stage. We will learn the lessons. It could be that this is connected to the behavior of the male.”

Zoo authorities hope that Chana will be able to mate again and bring another litter, which with any luck, she will decide not to eat.