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Baby Tiger cubs are some of the cutest cats in the world. But did you know that a president tried to keep tiger cubs as presidential pets or that every tiger cub litter has a dominant sibling?
Keep reading to see five adorable pictures and learn five amazing facts about baby tigers!
#1: A US president had two tiger cubs as his presidential pet!
President Martin Van Buren was the only president in US history to have two adorable baby tiger cubs are presidential pets. Van Buren received these two tiger babies as a gift from the Sultan of Oman. Congress and Van Buren, however, argued over who actually owned the cubs.
His furry friends’ stay at the White House was short-lived, however, as Congress argued that the tiger cubs were a gift to the United States and not to Van Buren himself. The animals were removed from the White House and moved to the Washington Zoo.
#2: Tiger Cubs Are Born Completely Blind
Baby tiger cubs cannot see anything outside their mother’s womb for the first five to ten days. This is because they are born with a film over their eyes that takes several days to tear. During this time, the tigers depend on their sense of smell and the help of their mother to navigate the world around them.
Even if the film tears and the little felines can open their eyes, they still can’t see well. It can take up to two weeks longer for their vision to fully develop. While baby tigers are vulnerable, mother tigers protect them from predators. They do this by hiding them in safe areas and traveling away from her burrow alone to hunt.
#3: Every Litter Has a Dominant Cub
Whenever a female tiger has a litter of cubs, there is a dominant cub in the pack. Most of the time, however, this cub is male. However, unlike other animals, the dominant baby is not always the largest in the pack. Researchers noted that their mothers preferred dominant cubs and often played among the other cubs in their litter. They are also usually the first to eat and consume the most food compared to their siblings.
Tiger cubs generally stay close to their mother for the first 18 to 24 months of life. Conversely, dominant cubs are known to move away from their pack as early as six months.
#4: A male tiger in India adopted a litter of baby tiger cubs
Typical, masculine tigers have little to do with the babies they father. In fact, male tigers often kill a female’s cubs to get the chance to mate with her. However, a male tiger in a nature reserve in India was observed by researchers caring for four tiger cubs after their mother died.
Researchers noted that this male tiger shared its prey with the babies and often interacted with them, showing no signs of threatening the babies. It was even noted that after he started taking care of the babies, he began to travel shorter distances from them. This is a behavior usually only seen in tiger mothers.
#5: Only about half of baby tigers reach the age of two
Although mother tigers are fiercely protective of their young, only about half of each litter of tiger cubs live to be two years old. This can be attributed to several factors, but the most common reasons are food scarcity, disease, predators and even adult tigers who kill a female’s young to get a chance to mate with her.
Tiger cubs that survive the age of two usually live to be about 15 years old in the wild or 20 years in captivity.
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