Week 248 ( 23rd – 29th May 2008 )

Hulooo got a new toy and cubs get a taste of meat

This week started off relatively quiet. That was until Hulooo got his new toy. On Monday there was an old tire of one of the vehicles hung from Hulooo’s pepper tree with a rope. At first he seemed a bit scared of this new object taking its place in his tree. However the fear soon disappeared when he saw that the tire is actually harmless. He still approached it with caution the first couple of times though. He soon learned that the tire is actually a very nice toy. He started slapping it and then ran away when the tire came back towards him. Hulooo then became brave and jumped towards it, hooked it with his claw and bit it. A piece of cloth was put around the tire to give Hulooo some grip, but it didn’t last long. He ripped off the cloth and continued playing. This became his greatest pass time for the rest of the week. Well, that and feeding…

On Tuesday all the tigers got fed and they all enjoyed it. But there was a couple of mouths that tasted meat for the first time that day. In the afternoon Cathay was pretty full from almost finishing the carcass. She was sleeping next to her pole shelter. Then the cubs came out from the breeding centre and played around. They stumbled onto a piece of meat that Cathay left behind. They both sniffed at it for a while and licked it and apparently they liked it. The two of them started chewing on the piece of meat, and this continued for a while. Later on Cathay saw this and she walked towards them. At first it looked like she encouraged them eating, but then she took the piece of meat and walked off with the cubs following her. She lay down and started chewing on it herself. The cubs went closer very cautiously and then joined her. They did not eat that much, but it is a great start.