Two Sumatran tigers were born at the end of March at the Amiens zoo. The tiger cubs, a male and a female, now weigh 3 kg and 2.5 kg respectively.
This birth comes 18 months after that of their big brother Pasaï. The little ones have not yet been named, the zoo said, inviting Internet users to participate in choosing their name via social networks. They are considered seriously endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) According to the IUCN, there are fewer than 400 left in the wild, distributed in five areas of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, protected but isolated from each other, making their genetic mixing increasingly difficult. The zoo hopes to maintain the greatest possible genetic diversity of this species in captivity, a backup population in the event of extinction, indicated the director of the zoo, Xavier Vaillant. The cubs will be visible to visitors by June, but are not expected to be released into the wild until later this year.