Zookeepers at the Aalborg Zoo had their suspicions confirmed on Sunday, after the zoo's 14-year-old tigress Kim gave birth to a little cub.
"The mother doesn't leave its side, so we haven't been able to determine its gender or weigh it yet," the zookeeper, Frank Thomsen told the Ekstra Bladet tabloid.
"Kim is an experienced mother, so we are confident that she will take a good care of her newborn. The cub is just eating and sleeping."
In the wild, no one would take pity
According to Thomsen, the Aalborg Zoo has been involved in a breeding program with Sumatran tigers and plans to keep the cub, for now.
The situation may, however, change in a year or two when the cub is separated from its mother and has to fend for itself.
"In the zoo world, we cannot give any guarantees. Eventually, we will have to make a decision, but it'll all happen naturally," Thomsen assured.
He argues that people need to distance themselves from their human feelings to allow for what is natural.
"If a lion on a Savanna took pity on a zebra, I am sure there wouldn't be any lions around now," Thomsen noted.
Only one cub this time
Tigers can live to be 20 years of age in zoos but only 15 years in the wild.
Kim is already fourteen years old and her progressed age is the reason why she only gave birth to one cub this time.
Usually tigers have between two and four cubs.
Rare and critically-endangered species
The Sumatran tiger is a rare subspecies that inhabits the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
It is the smallest of the six tiger subspecies that exist today.
Sumatran tigers are critically endangered and only 400-600 of them are estimated to exist in the wild.
Their major threats include poaching and loss of natural habitat due to expansion of palm oil plantations.
