AP Panther Fan
04-05-2005, 09:08 AM
Mom Volunteers to Breastfeed Tiger Cubs
A very brave woman in Myanmar has volunteered to breastfeed a pair of endangered Bengal tiger cubs who were born at a Yangon zoo two weeks ago. The cubs had to be removed from their very aggressive mother after she killed the third cub in her litter, reports the AFP news service.
Htay is a 40-year-old lactating mother of three, including a 7-month-old baby. She offered to breastfeed the male and female cubs when she learned that the tigers needed breast milk to survive. "I felt sorry for them so I decided to feed them before their teeth grow," Htay told the Myanmar Times weekly newspaper.
The Bengal tiger cubs were the first born at the Yangon Zoological Gardens in 16 years. They are being bottle-fed in addition to Htay's half-hour breastfeeding sessions four times a day. The cubs will go on public display in about two months. AFP reports that a year ago, Myanmar's military government created the world's largest tiger reserve to protect its big cats, 250 of which remain in the wild.
A very brave woman in Myanmar has volunteered to breastfeed a pair of endangered Bengal tiger cubs who were born at a Yangon zoo two weeks ago. The cubs had to be removed from their very aggressive mother after she killed the third cub in her litter, reports the AFP news service.
Htay is a 40-year-old lactating mother of three, including a 7-month-old baby. She offered to breastfeed the male and female cubs when she learned that the tigers needed breast milk to survive. "I felt sorry for them so I decided to feed them before their teeth grow," Htay told the Myanmar Times weekly newspaper.
The Bengal tiger cubs were the first born at the Yangon Zoological Gardens in 16 years. They are being bottle-fed in addition to Htay's half-hour breastfeeding sessions four times a day. The cubs will go on public display in about two months. AFP reports that a year ago, Myanmar's military government created the world's largest tiger reserve to protect its big cats, 250 of which remain in the wild.