Discover Mother's Day at the Zoo with mom (and grandmom) Kira and her
cubs...
Visitors to the Philadelphia Zoo have been hearing the pitter-patter of
little cat feet since May 2007 when the Zoo proudly announced that Kira,
our female
Amur tiger, gave birth to three rare, female Amur tiger cubs
(Changbai, Koosaka and Terney) in the award-winning
Bank of America Big
Cat Falls. But did you know that Kira, our female Amur tiger is not only
mother to but also a grandmother?
The three female cubs, who are now almost one year old and weight about
150 pounds each, were born to Kira, who came to the Zoo from Germany in
1998. Their births in May were the result of a national effort by the
Association of Zoos and Aquariums to ensure a healthy zoo population of
this endangered big cat. The Zoo asks members and all visitors to
consider making a contribution to the care and feeding of its growing
Amur tiger family by
making a tiger "adoption" online.
But Kira is also the proud parent (and grandparent) to several Amur
tigers who now make their homes in AZA zoos across the country. Her
other offspring include:
Kalista and Baikal - Born May 31, 2001 at the Philadelphia Zoo. Kalista
now makes her home at the St. Louis Zoo and Baikal now lives at the
Bronx Zoo.
Sungari, Amba, and Kazek - Born July 14, 2003 at the Philadelphia Zoo.
Sungari now resides at the Buffalo Zoo, while Amba lives in Milwaukee
and Kazek in Utah.
Katya, Anastasia, and Ussuri - Born May 21, 2005 at the Rochester Zoo.
All three are still at Rochester.
Changbai, Koosaka, Terney - born May 24, 2007 at the Philadelphia Zoo.
All three are waiting for you to come wish them a happy birthday later
this month here at America's first zoo.
And, is now a mom, making Kira a grandmother - Sungari has two kids with
her at the Buffalo Zoo.
Amur tigers are the largest of all big cats. Adult male tigers can reach
weights of 400 to 700 pounds, while females can reach 250 to 400 pounds.
There are only about 400 Amur (formerly known as Siberian) tigers left
in the wild. The Philadelphia Zoo, in addition to participating in the
AZA breeding program, works to save Amur tigers in the wild through
support of the Tigris Foundation.
Recently, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) honored the
Philadelphia Zoo with the AZA Exhibit of the Year Award for its Bank of
America Big Cat Falls. The Exhibit of the Year Award is presented by
the AZA for outstanding dedication to conservation issues and
construction of exhibit space replicating species natural habitats.