Sumatran Tiger Cubs Make Debut At Chester Zoo (PHOTOS)

With as few as 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild, zoologists at the Chester Zoo in the U.K. were thrilled when five-year-old Kirana gave birth to three baby cubs on Oct. 21.

On Tuesday, the mother of three brought the tiger cubs out of her indoor enclosure for the first time, according to The Sun.

Check out the slideshow below for some awww-inspiring photos of the Sumatran tiger cubs.

In addition to being adorable, these baby tigers represent one of the last chances for the species.

"It's estimated that there are just a few hundred left in the wild and only around 7% of their original habitat remains, which is why these triplets are so, so important," Tim Rowlands, the zoo's curator of mammals, told Sky News.

At this point in their development, the cubs are still too small to have their sexes identified.

In June, Kirana gave birth to the zoo's first tiger in 23 years. However, zoo officials were shocked when the cub was found dead just 11 days later, according to The Sun.

Comments

[Igor Purlantov]

11:04 AM on 11/28/2011

Sumatran tigers are incredibly majestic animals. It is a real shame that there are so few left.

[Connor Wisnom]

03:24 PM on 11/24/2011

Sumatran tigers are breathtaking. that being said, as are most cute and cuddly animals, they arent very friendly in the wild. big cats like tigers and cougars attack more people per year than wolves, bears, and sharks combined. i know someone from India and he said the locals hate the tigers that inhabit the country because of how dangerous they are. so before we go out releasing them back in their habitats, we need to treat the situation very carefully.

[Gail Cerridwen]

05:25 AM on 11/25/2011

Want to know how dumb some Americans are (ME)? Years ago I was traveling somewhere south of Delhi (can't recall exactly where) and spent the night with a friend in a pup tent we'd brought. The next morning a Muslim boy came by the small river/stream beneath us and told us we were very brave. Response: What??? The tigers, he said. (And then we learned there were also cobra nests by the river.) End of my American ingenuity. But yeah, they're gorgeous.

Last time

[Connor Wisnom]

01:34 PM on 11/26/2011

its the same for America, people go hiking in the smokey mountains or Yellowstone and try camping out of the grounds and get mauled by cougars and bears because they were stupid. the only difference is the tigers in Asia are a little more aggressive.

[jt4702]

03:08 PM on 11/26/2011

While I agree that wild animals are anything but cuddly, I need to bring attention to the fact that tiger attacks are more prevalent because humans keep encroaching on their natural habitat.

[Connor Wisnom]

07:39 PM on 11/26/2011

yea, and its unfortunate it has to come to that, but what are we going to do? start killing people to lower down the global population? ive seen that suggestion dozens of times, but people like that should just volunteer themselves.

[Trecia Watson]

08:01 AM on 11/24/2011

It's such a beautiful animal and it is evident the mother possess great love for her baby. The habitat of these animals must be protected so that these animals can have the freedom that is needed and deserved. Once all animals are living in protective 'shelters' their chances of survival will be even less. The main problem: Too many people and numbers are growing. The world will one day be covered in concrete and homes will be built on top of one another. Yeah, that sounds like New York, and other large cities. It's a good thing we have pictures of these creatures so that we can talk about them, like we do the dinosaurs.

[genegene002]

07:40 AM on 11/24/2011

LOL at photo 2 AUHHH Look how adorable it is! It wants to eat me!!!

[ReealOne]

05:59 AM on 11/24/2011

Absolutely magnificent and majestic animals. Just look at the tenderness and love the mum and pup shows each other.... so beautiful.

[bonnieb333]

05:44 AM on 11/24/2011

With only perhaps, 400 Sumatran tigers left in the world, it will be a tough fight.

I hope they survive; they are truly magnificent beasts.

[dlarlaw]

05:38 AM on 11/24/2011

Evolution?---absolutly NOT!

[RobertRGohlke]

03:27 AM on 11/24/2011

Ok...awww.... :)

[milesthemad]

02:58 AM on 11/24/2011

Awwwww.

[StrawHat]

01:35 AM on 11/24/2011

I think that sweet little baby is saying, "I'm hungry! Come here and let me eat you!"

Cute.

[shadowligerv]

01:13 AM on 11/24/2011

Seein things like this makes me want to go out and poach the poachers that made these cats so few in numbers.

[dav0001]

12:41 AM on 11/24/2011

If you guys really want to see something amazing check out the documentary 'The Awesome Pawsome". It's about 4 newborn tigers raised in a zoo in Australia. It follows them through their first year. You'll be aawing your way through the whole thing. It's on youtube right now or you can google it on the internet.

[nonnyj]

02:38 AM on 11/24/2011

That was so neat!!!! Forgot about that show!!!

[dav0001]

02:52 AM on 11/24/2011

Yeah, I could watch that show over and over. Did you know they did a second show? The tigers went on to have their own babaies so they did the same kind of show with their cubs.

[momster1022]

12:30 AM on 11/24/2011

When we run out of animals god will make more. That pelt would make a lovely hat though

[bonnieb333]

05:48 AM on 11/24/2011

A really dumb comment.

[dav0001]

11:58 PM on 11/23/2011

It sickens me that we've almost wiped out these incredible animals. We should all be ashamed of ourselves. We're supposed to be intelligent. If we are we can find a way to live without destroying things. There are app. 1500 species that range from possible extintion to near extinction to extinct. Why?

[eyeinthesky1221]

12:51 AM on 11/24/2011

over 90% of all animals species that have lives on earth are now gone, nothing new

[dav0001]

01:23 AM on 11/24/2011

That's actually something of an exaggeration.. The official count is 905 species extinct with almost 17,000 more on the verge. That's out of the app. 44,000 species originally on our planet. But still, we are wiping them out way too fast.

[Likecandy7]

12:58 AM on 11/24/2011

B/c most humans could care less about this world...

[Kristina Brotzman]

11:36 PM on 11/23/2011

So adorable! I love how when the mom is carrying him, the cub is like "yeah, whatever." lolz.
One of my cats had kittens when she was younger (RIP Mischief), and I remember 2 of her kittens were getting into trouble (about to crawl under a couch), and she picked them up and dropped them in a box so they couldn't get into anymore trouble lolz.
The maternal instincts these cats have are amazing!