Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Asks for Help in Naming 2 New Tiger Cubs

Genny Glassman
·3 min read
2

Caretakers at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo are celebrating today after the birth of two brand new Amur tiger cubs. The cubs made their public debut at the zoo on January 31. But there's still a big problem — they don't have names! So the zoo is turning to the public for help in picking out the perfect monikers for their new additions.

The cubs were born back on November 6 to their parents Zoya and Hector.

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo released a statement about the cubs' birth, which was obtained by WKYC.

"The cubs are now 12 weeks old, weigh over 25 pounds and have reached several developmental milestones including transitioning to a meat diet, gaining strength and agility and spending time separated from mom," they said in the press release.

"As the cubs adjust to their new habitat, guests will have a chance to see them daily at Rosebrough Tiger Passage, with mornings being the best time to see them as they adjust to their new habitats," the statement reads.

As for the names, the zoo has narrowed their options down for each cub. For the female cub, they've selected Mila, Karina, and Anoushka. As for the male cub they've chosen Ivan, Boris, and Sergei. The zoo has since said that "each of the name options are culturally significant to the communities where Amur tigers live."

The zoo even shared a short video of the cubs on TikTok, which shows the two playing around in their enclosure. "In their debut era," the video's caption jokes.

Amur Tiger Facts

You may know the Amur Tiger by their other well-known moniker — the Siberian tiger. These cats are some of the largest in the world. Males can weigh up to 160-190 kg, while females can weigh up to 110-130 kg.

Despite their larger size, their population numbers are actually small. According to a IUCN Red List assessment published in 2022, there is only an estimated 265–486 in the Russian Far East and a small number of Amur Tigers running across the border into China and possibly North Korea.

In the 1940s, Amur Tigers were on the brink of extinction. Sadly there were less than 50 Amur Tigers left in the world. Thankfully conservation efforts and new legislation helped strengthen the numbers of Amur Tigers, but they are still technically considered an endangered species.

If you want to weigh in on the names of the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo cubs, you can go to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo website and vote up to February 12. To vote, you'll need to make a donation, but all money donated will be used to support wildlife conservation and combating illegal wildlife trade. The zoo will announce the winners on February 14.

So we guess you could say this is another reason to celebrate.

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