Advertisement

Your morning adorable: Endangered Amur tiger cub debuts at Erie Zoo in Pennsylvania

Share

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

An Amur tiger cub named Yuri made his public debut at Pennsylvania’s Erie Zoo last week. Yuri, who just turned 3 months old, is the first tiger cub born at the zoo in over 20 years.

Amur tigers, also known as Siberian tigers, are the largest tiger subspecies -- when little Yuri (who now weighs just 28 pounds) is grown up, he’s likely to weigh between 400 and 600 pounds!

Advertisement

Amur tigers are considered endangered, but their population today is far more stable than it once was. By the 1930s, there were thought to be fewer 40 members of the subspecies left in the wild; there are now several hundred, and still more live in zoos around the world. In light of their endangered status, though, little Yuri’s birth is a big deal!

Anna, Yuri’s mother, has slightly injured him on a few occasions while carrying him by the scruff of the neck. (‘I think she loved him too much,’ zoo president Scott Mitchell told the Erie Times-News.) After the second incident, keepers began caring for Yuri themselves to ensure that he wasn’t seriously harmed.

Fun fact: Yuri’s favorite food (in fact, the only meat he’ll consent to eat) is hamburger.

See another photo of Yuri after the jump!

RELATED CUTE CUBS:
Your morning adorable: Critically endangered Amur leopard cub is born in Germany
Your morning adorable: Endangered Asian lion cubs get a checkup at German zoo

-- Lindsay Barnett

Advertisement