TACOMA, Wash. -- Officials at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma say an endangered Sumatran tiger is pregnant. Jaya is expected to give birth in late August.
Zoo officials have confirmed her pregnancy but they have been unable to determine how many cubs she is expecting.
Only five Sumatran tiger cubs have been born this year in accredited North American zoos and fewer than 380 live in zoos around the world.
This is the second pregnancy for nine-year-old Jaya who gave birth to a pair of cubs in May 2010. It is the first litter fathered by Malosi, a three-year-old tiger who is visiting from Honolulu to breed with Jaya.
A typical tiger pregnancy lasts about four months. If all goes well, zoo officials expect the cubs will make their public debut in early fall.
