{"id":598819,"date":"2026-07-22T16:09:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T16:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/598819\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T16:09:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T16:09:16","slug":"a-landmark-moment-corks-fota-wildlife-park-announces-birth-of-tiger-and-lion-cubs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/598819\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A landmark moment\u2019: Cork’s Fota Wildlife Park announces birth of tiger and lion cubs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fota Wildlife Park has announced the birth of two critically endangered Sumatran tiger cubs, in what was described as \u201ca landmark moment in its conservation breeding work\u201d.<\/p>\n

The arrival of the cubs, born on June 16 to mother Jambi and father Batak, marks the first time more than one cub has been born in a single litter at the park.<\/p>\n

\n Fota<\/a> has also confirmed the arrival of three endangered Asian lion cubs, born on July 1 to mother Arya and father Yali.<\/p>\n

The birth marks nine-year-old Arya\u2019s second litter with Yali, who is 10 years old.<\/p>\n

Sumatran tigers and Asian lions face ongoing threats in the wild, including habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict and poaching.<\/p>\n

The Sumatran tiger is classified as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, the highest threat category before extinction in the wild, with fewer than 350 individuals estimated to remain in their native habitat.<\/p>\n

The Asian lion is classified as endangered by the IUCN and survives today in only one wild population, located in India\u2019s Gir Forest.<\/p>\n

\"FotaFota has confirmed the arrival of three endangered Asian lion cubs, born on July 1 to mother Arya and father Yali. Photo: Michael O’Sullivan \/ OSM PHOTO<\/p>\n

Lead ranger, John Leahy said the park is \u201cabsolutely thrilled\u201d to announce the birth of both sets of cubs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to pinch myself when I think about the fact that we\u2019re announcing both Sumatran tiger and Asian lion cubs this summer.\n <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had members of the public asking about the noises, the squeaks and everything they\u2019re hearing over the past few weeks from the Asian Sanctuary.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, we\u2019re delighted to confirm these exciting births at the Park.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cubs are currently getting the developmental space they need with their respective mothers, so they are not on public view as yet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mr Leahy said both mothers and their cubs are doing very well.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s Jambi the Sumatran tiger\u2019s first time being a mother, and she’s been amazing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe two tiger cubs are feeding really well.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this stage of their growth, we really take a hands-off approach and allow the young cubs to nurse naturally.<\/p>\n

\u201cJambi has kept them mostly in their house and only brings them out in the evenings, after the park has closed, when the temperatures have cooled.<\/p>\n

\u201cArya, the lioness, has been an incredibly protective and attentive mother.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe gave birth in the den, which faces the visitor viewing area, and we have to restrict the area for now to allow her the privacy and space she needs while nursing and caring for her cubs.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a result, the cubs are not visible publicly, but we hope to reopen access within the next few weeks as they continue to settle.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fota Wildlife Park has announced the birth of two critically endangered Sumatran tiger cubs, in what was described…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":598820,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[75],"tags":[187774,18,117,73321,19,17],"class_list":["post-598819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-echo-instagram","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-fota-wildlife-park","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116964503064461715","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=598819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/598820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=598819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=598819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=598819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}