Staff at the Calgary Zoo were forced to intervene in the care of a baby Siberian tiger last night after its mother left it unattended.
Katja, the mother, left the cub alone in the den yesterday, allowing her to become dehydrated and her body temperature to fall.
Veterinarians were initially pleased with the care Katja was giving to her female cub, which was born on Monday, but had to make the decision to remove the baby.
The cub is now receiving emergency care and around the clock treatment in the Animal Health Centre.
“Having had to intervene to the extent we did to keep the cub alive, means returning the cub to its mother any time soon is a risk we are not prepared to take,” said Dr. Jake Veasey, director of animal care.
“In our experience, often when a mother leaves their young it is because they sense that there is a congenital problem. We don’t know yet if that is the case, but we are certain that had we not
intervened, this cub would have died. ”
