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NEW TIGER CUBS!

A miracle has occurred at the St. Augustine Wild Reserve! Two beautiful white tiger cubs were born on February 11, 2010 .

The St. Augustine Wild Reserve is a non-breeding facility. We prefer to perform rescue operations only, and do not wish to become part of the overpopulation of exotic animals in captivity that are no longer wanted by their owners. Occasionally, we will receive an animal that is already pregnant, in which case we will keep the offspring at the Reserve throughout their entire life.

From past Press Releases, our readers are aware of two rescued tigers which arrived in late 2008, Bindhi and Krishna . We were informed by their former owner that Bindhi, who was 12 years old at the time, produced several litters that were still-born. Her former owner used her babies, that did survive in the past, for photo opportunities at fairs and flea markets, a practice that we frown upon. Because of her age and poor condition, we didn’t really believe that she would ever conceive. We rescued Bindhi and Krishna at the same time before their former owner could euthanize them, and had no choice but to contain them in the same enclosure. Our plan was always to separate them as soon as another cage opened up.

Finally, in November 2009, we were able to accommodate Bindhi in another habitat where she could still see Krishna , but not be allowed to mingle with him. The two were arguing over food and we were afraid Krishna would become injured, and there was always the possibility of a successful breeding, now that Bindhi was being fed well and was putting on weight.

On February 11, about 106 days after the separation, my wonderful volunteer, Pam, heard babies crying in Bindhi’s cage. Bindhi was not interested in her babies, which were very hungry. They were probably born during the night and had not eaten since birth. Pam’s quick thinking saved these precious cubs. Pam shifted Bindhi into her lockout and collected two beautiful white tiger cubs, a male and a female. She brought them into the house, mixed up Kitten Milk Replacer formula into baby bottles and began feeding the infants, who greedily downed about one full ounce each of formula.

Newborn cubs must be stimulated to relieve themselves, something that the mother tiger is supposed to do. Pam acted as surrogate mother to the cubs, took care of their needs, and continued to feed them.

Now 6 days old, the cubs are doing great. They are fed around the clock every two to four hours, so none of us at the Reserve are getting ANY sleep whatsoever. We have taken them to the vet for a checkup and x-rays twice and were told that they are extremely healthy. Their stripes are black, which indicates that they are from distantly-related parents. Many white tigers are born with brown stripes, which indicate they are closely related and could have physical problems later in life.

It just goes to show you what proper care, diet, and vitamins can do for an otherwise malnourished 14-year-old tiger, whose ribs were showing when we first acquired her and whose fur was stiff and unkempt. This of course will be the last litter of Bindhi’s life, but she will be able to see these cubs 

grow to adulthood at the Reserve where they will receive an amazing amount of love and attention.

We will not be showing the new cubs for quite some time. Only certain handlers at the Reserve are allowed to bottle-feed and care for the cubs. They are susceptible to diseases and stress at this young age, so we must be very careful with them. When they are about three weeks old, we will bring them out on tours so that our guests can have a look at our new baby tigers!

The St. Augustine Wild Reserve allows tours on an appointment-only basis. Please call (904) 940-0664 for reservations, or e-mail us at WildReserve@aol.com. Usually tours are on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons by appointment only, although we may be able to accommodate visitors on other days by advance appointment. Guests will be allowed to visit our exotic animals up close (no hands-on, please) while we feed our big cats on the tour. It can get quite exciting! Currently, the Reserve houses approximately 75 mammals, birds and reptiles. We look forward to seeing you at the St. Augustine Wild Reserve!