A rare Sumatran tiger at Auckland Zoo has killed one of its own cubs.
Auckland Zoo revealed on its Instagram on Tuesday its four-year-old female, Zayana, had given birth to two baby tigers last Friday.
However she killed the first cub after the second was stillborn.
Lauren Booth from the zoo's carnivore team said Zayana may have killed her cub because having only one offspring creates "an even tougher higher-stakes situation" for the mother.
"Having a larger litter size offers Sumatran tigers the best chance of successfully rearing young, so when only one cub is born - a vulnerable situation - it's not unusual for a tiger mother to kill the remaining cub, which is what has happened here."
And despite the sad news, Booth said Zayana is a capable mother.
"Zayana has proven she can successfully conceive and give birth, and we observed her demonstrating some positive mothering behaviours towards the first cub prior to the birth of the stillborn cub," Booth said.
Sumatran tigers normally gestate for 100 to 108 days, birthing two or three cubs at a time.
Five-year-old Ramah was the father and seemed to be a great match with Zayana - mating 95 times.
Following their second interaction, Auckland Zoo announced Zayana was pregnant in July, according to an ultrasound.
Estimates say fewer than 600 Sumatran tigers remain in the wild, found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
They are critically endangered, facing multiple threats including continual deforestation, poaching, and human-wildlife conflict. And according to the WWF, Sumatra and other parts of Asia still have big markets for illegal tiger parts and products.
Zayana had been kept at Topeza Zoo and Conservation Centre in Kansas, USA, before arriving in Tāmaki Makaurau in November last year.
The zoo said it won't be long Zayana is back in oestrus (on heat) and will be able to try again with Ramah for more cubs.
