Excitement and joy at Ljubljana Zoo after birth of 3 Siberian tiger cubs

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — A zoo in Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana has presented its newest residents: three Siberian tiger cubs who were born there under two weeks ago.

The Siberian tiger is one of the world’s most endangered big cat species, with experts estimating that about 500 remain in the wild. Their survival is threatened primarily by habitat loss and poaching.

Zoo workers said the cubs were born to mother Arisa and father Ussuri, which arrived in Ljubljana in 2004, after careful planning and much hoping.

“We were not really expecting, but hoping, working on it because we have a good breeding pair,” she said. Though the couple were introduced to each other at the right time “we weren’t completely sure,” she added.

“So we were also a bit surprised and of course very happy,” Strus said.

Breeding wild animal species in enclosed spaces is known to be hard and often does not succeed.

The cubs, born on May 27, are highly vulnerable and need to be isolated from others except their mother, but zoo staff and visitors have been able see them on a screen streaming live video footage.

Visitors could be seen smiling as they watched the mother with her babies on the screen. Barbara Gallaido, from San Francisco, said the sight was “really fabulous.”

“I’ve seen tigers in the wild in India, but not like this, not with cubs,” she said. “It was really great.”

Arisa is a first-time mother at the age of 4, Strus said. She appears to be doing very well so far.

“She is constantly licking them (cubs,) breastfeeding them and they are resting together,” she said. “So far so good. But … we still need to wait and see what will happen.”

According to Strus, tiger cubs open their eyes and begin hearing about two weeks after birth. She said the mother is expected to bring them out of the den for the first time when they are one month old.