The three Malayan tiger cubs at the San Diego Zoo are now six months old and quite the handful (see previous blog, A Tiger Cub's Day). Menderu (which is Malayan for "roar") is a male and the largest, weighing 80 pounds (36 kilograms). His two sisters aren't much smaller; Jin (which means "spirit") weighs 72 pounds (33 kilograms), while Seri (meaning "brightness") is the smallest at 70 pounds (32 kilograms). But just because Menderu is the biggest doesn't mean that he is in charge of his sisters! They are quite capable of holding their own against him.
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It’s hard to believe that our little cubs at the Wild Animal Park's Lion Camp are already one year old. Where did the time go? (see blog, Lion Cubs Grow by the Minute.) It seems like only yesterday we were looking into those soft brown eyes, wondering, "Are you Tamu or Laini?" "Is your left shoulder or left hip to be shaved?" Now I look into those eyes and a whole personality appears.
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Oh me. Oh my!! What can I do?
My koala bag is torn right through.

No worries, mate. Your hat is great.
We’ll use it to weigh the baby joey today!

So, let’s catch the baby. We won’t say maybe.
Put her into my hat. And that’s that.

We grab little Gigi, who does a tiny wee-wee
Cuddles into my hat, weighing less than a rat.

Our work is now done. We put her back with her mum.
Up the tree they go. What a cute duo!!

~ With homage to Dr. Seuss

Fred Bercovitch is head of the San Diego Zoo’s Behavioral Biology Division. He is currently doing koala field research in Australia.

It’s been over two months now since Kalila, our precious Cape clawless otter pup suddenly passed away (see previous blog, In Memory of Our Otter Pup). Many tests were run to try to determine the cause of her death, and none were very conclusive. She did have a systemic infection despite having been on antibiotics, and she was also still very anemic. The cause of both issues is unknown, and perhaps we will never really know. It is sad, but true, that sometimes animals just don’t thrive even with our best efforts to keep them safe and healthy. In the case of lil’ Kalila, she may have been born compromised and that contributed to her passing. I can say with great assurance, though, that the short five months of Kalila’s life were nurtured ones as her mom, Sweet Otter, proved to be a protective, attentive, and playful mother!
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Construction has come to an end over at one of the Wild Animal Park's off-exhibit research station, and the dust has settled to reveal our brand-new iguana barn! It is a wonderful building with iguana rooms complete with heated floors so these desert-dwelling reptiles can feel right at home. A few more electric connections are needed but we should have our iguanas move in by the end of the year! So how are the cheetahs I call the "Q-boys" doing now that the commotion has settled down? (See Ria's previous blog, Cheetah News on the Two 'Q's.)
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Kamau has set off to start a new life, and hopefully a new family, at the Sacramento Zoo! He was born at the Wild Animal Park on July 19, 2006 to Mina and Izu. He has a brother, Zenda, who is now at the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois and two half sisters, Abena and Bakari, who are at the John Ball Zoo in Michigan. Being the final lion from the 2006 litters to leave the Park, he has had the time to develop into quite an impressive boy right before our eyes; at 2 years old he already weighed in at 386 pounds (175 kilograms)!
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Hello!
My name is Adam and I am a keeper with the hoofed animal team at the San Diego Zoo. Working at the Zoo has always been a dream of mine, and to realize it every day is a wonderful feeling. One thing I discovered about being a keeper: if you find another keeper anywhere in the world, you can swap jobs with them! The minute I learned of this possibility, I started right away finding a keeper in Australia.
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If you've ever walked through Cat Canyon at the San Diego Zoo, you've probably seen the fossas that live there, and maybe even noticed the new fossa kits that recently moved there. But did you know that we have a lot more fossas than can be seen on exhibit?
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Do you ever wonder what life is like for tiger cubs and their mother and father? What do they eat? What do they do for fun? I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to witness the tiger behind the scenes.

These Malayan tiger cubs, Jin (female), Menderu (male), and Seri (female), and their mother, Mek, and father, Paka, seem to live very comfortably in their enclosure. And their day starts at the crack o' dawn!
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In my last blog (Meet Our New Rhino), I referred to a new rhino, Surat, who would be coming to the San Diego Zoo soon. Well, he has arrived and made a big impression. Soman, who arrived in July, was definitely wound up when first released onto exhibit and stayed that way for about a week. He eventually calmed down and has become relaxed and comfortable in his exhibit. His younger brother, Surat, has not followed the same path.
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