A quartet of rare and utterly adorable white tiger cubs, born over a month ago, delighted visitors during their first public appearance at a Japanese zoo.
Weighing in at a mere 11 pounds and measuring 11 to 16 inches long, the fluffy cubs were the center of attention at Tobu Zoo in Tokyo, drawing crowds who waited patiently for over an hour to glimpse them.
Watch the video at the end.
These precious cubs, born to seven-year-old tigress Karla on March 16, are the newest additions to a global population of only around 250 white tigers.
White Bengal tigers, characterized by their striking coloration due to a rare genetic anomaly, have always been incredibly scarce in the wild but remain popular attractions in zoos and circuses.
Yusuke Terada, an architect who visited the zoo, expressed joy by saying, “Seeing such tiny babies, I became thrilled.
And when I saw three baby tigers playing and their mother watching over them from nearby, I thought, what a lovely family.”
The one female and three male cubs are still nursing from their mother but are beginning to show interest in the meat she prefers.
Their father, Rocky, is still adjusting to his newfound role as a father, having only recently seen his offspring for the first time from his neighboring enclosure.
Zookeeper Hiroki Itakura remarked, “At first, he had an expression on his face like, What are these? Something foreign to me is here.’ I believe that perhaps he doesn’t yet even recognize them as fellow white tigers.”
White tigers, a recessive mutation of Bengal tigers, share many physical attributes with their standard counterparts but tend to be larger.
While several hundred have been bred in zoos and wildlife parks worldwide, conservationists argue that efforts should prioritize less inbred tiger varieties that face extinction.
