PADANG-LAWAS, Indonesia: A Sumatran tiger with an amputated paw has given birth to a pair of cubs in Indonesia, amid fears for the future of the critically endangered species.
Gadis — whose name means girl in Indonesian — delivered her babies at the Padang Lawas conservation area in North Sumatra about a month ago, conservationists say.
The tiger mom has been undergoing rehabilitation since her paw and part of her leg were amputated two years ago after getting caught in a trap for catching wild boars.
“Gadis... has now recovered and is healthy, giving birth to the two cubs,” said reserve head Parta Basmeli Siregar.
The sex of the two cubs has not yet been established, he added.
Sumatran tiger births are rare and the species is considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
There are fewer than 400 left in the wild and environmental activists say they are increasingly coming into conflict with people as their natural habitat is rapidly deforested.
Amputee Sumatran tiger gives birth to cubs
Amputee Sumatran tiger gives birth to cubs
- The gender of the two cubs is yet to be determined
- There are less than 400 Sumartan tigers remaining in the wild as they are losing their habitats to deforestation
Fans bid farewell to Japan’s only pandas
TOKYO: Panda lovers in Tokyo said goodbye on Sunday to a hugely popular pair of the bears that are set to return to China, leaving Japan without the beloved animals for the first time in half a century.
Loaned out as part of China’s “panda diplomacy” program, the distinctive black-and-white animals have symbolized friendship between Beijing and Tokyo since the normalization of diplomatic ties in 1972.
Some visitors at Ueno Zoological Gardens were left teary-eyed as they watched Japan’s only two pandas Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao munch on bamboo.
The animals are expected to leave for China on Tuesday following a souring of relations between Asia’s two largest economies.
“I feel like seeing pandas can help create a connection with China too, so in that sense I really would like pandas to come back to Japan again,” said Gen Takahashi, 39, a Tokyo resident who visited the zoo with his wife and their two-year-old daughter.
“Kids love pandas as well, so if we could see them with our own eyes in Japan, I’d definitely want to go.”
The pandas’ abrupt return was announced last month after Japan’s conservative premier Sanae Takaichi hinted Tokyo could intervene militarily in the event of any attack on Taiwan.
Her comment provoked the ire of Beijing, which regards the island as its own territory.
The 4,400 lucky winners of an online lottery took turns viewing the four-year-old twins at Ueno zoo while others gathered nearby, many sporting panda-themed shirts, bags and dolls to celebrate the moment.
Mayuko Sumida traveled several hours from the central Aichi region in the hope of seeing them despite not winning the lottery.
“Even though it’s so big, its movements are really funny-sometimes it even acts kind of like a person,” she said, adding that she was “totally hooked.”
“Japan’s going to be left with zero pandas. It feels kind of sad,” she said.
Their departure might not be politically motivated, but if pandas return to Japan in the future it would symbolize warming relations, said Masaki Ienaga, a professor at Tokyo Woman’s Christian University and expert in East Asian international relations.
“In the future...if there are intentions of improving bilateral ties on both sides, it’s possible that (the return of) pandas will be on the table,” he told AFP.
