Extraordinary film footage of the birth of two of the rarest tigers on the planet in Dublin Zoo is set to be aired in a new RTE series tomorrow night.
Four-year-old Tundra lives up to the name of the archetypal tiger mum during the birth of her two cubs which will help to save her species from extinction.
Cameras in the enclosure captured the four-hour birth of adorable female cubs Alena and Zarina, which was watched by anxious keepers from the control room will be shown to viewers as part of the new RTE series.
It gives audiences of the show which is watched around the globe a fascinating glimpse into the bonding of the first-time mother with her two cubs which are vital to the survival of their species which is down to 500 or 600 in the wild.
Ciaran McMahon, team leader of the West Side section of Dublin Zoo, said it is the first tiger birth ever captured on film in Ireland.
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He said: “We watched the birth on camera from a live link and had our veterinary teams on standby.
“All habitats are covered by internal cameras do it’s great we don’t have to be in there it’s already a stressful time for the female.
“It just makes it much more natural for her, dark, quiet, and it lets her bond very quickly with her cubs.
“It gives a great insight for the people viewing the show, they can actually see the birth just like we can.
“Around 7.30 that morning she was moving around and she was in the den for four or five days and we had the date of the mating. It’s only 103 days, the gestation period.
“We noticed the stretching, the increase in the breathing. She had the first cub at 9.30 and the second one in around 1 o’clock.
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“She was absolutely text book, she was a great first-time mum. Immediately she was attentive and cleaned the cub and she was still in labour. She has been a super mother.”
The veteran keeper said it is the first birth of Amur tiger cubs – formerly known as Siberian tigers – in Dublin Zoo 21 years.
He said: “It is such a significant birth for the zoo but also for the stud books as well as numbers have diminished down to 500 or 600.
“The fact that it is two females makes it is more significant they will go on an be paired with male tigers at some stage after the age of two or two and half and they start their own group and we’d be hoping they would have cubs in the future.
“It keeps the population numbers rising, slowly but still rising.”
- The Zoo is on RTE One on Sunday at 6.30pm.
