SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. – Zoo Miami is welcoming a new member of its family, just in time for the holidays.
Zoo officials announced Monday the birth of a rare Sumatran tiger.
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The male cub, which weighed in close to three pounds, was born at the zoo on Nov. 14. It's the first birth of a Sumatran tiger at Zoo Miami, and only the fourth born in the United States this year.
The tiger and its mother, 4-year-old Leeloo, are being isolated from the rest of the zoo's population in an effort to give the pair time to bond. According to Zoo Miami, first-time tiger mothers are often highly-stressed. Leeloo and the cub will remain isolated for sevearl weeks with little or no contact from zoo staff.
Leeloo was born at the Oklahoma City Zoo back in 2011 and moved to Zoo Miami in December 2013. The father, Berani, is 7-years-old and arrived in South Florida by way of the San Francisco Zoo in August 2013.
Sumatran tigers are the smallest subspecies of tigers, with males reaching up to 300 pounds.
In all, there are only 70 Sumatran tigers living in U.S. zoos, while only 500 are said to be living in the wild.
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