Overview
- The cubs are twin females born July 1 to first-time mother Ndari and father Rakan and were publicly announced by the Fort Worth Zoo on October 2.
- Keepers named the sisters Barani and Malu to reflect their personalities, with Barani described as bold and playful and Malu as more shy and independent.
- At about 12–13 weeks old the cubs weigh roughly 18–20 pounds each and have reached milestones such as jumping, climbing, eating meat and being exposed to water while bonding with their mother behind the scenes.
- The zoo says the cubs will be integrated into a cooperative North American Sumatran tiger breeding program to support genetic diversity in managed care.
- Sumatran tigers are critically endangered with fewer than about 650 left in the wild, and the births mark the zoo’s first tiger cubs since 2008 and the first born in the renovated Predators of Asia & Africa habitat opened in 2023.