Tiger Cub Makes Debut

11/05/2009 6:06 PM

Callie the cuddly cub made her first public appearance Thursday. The rare Amur Tiger was born in July and has since put on nearly thirty pounds. Despite a rough start, the cub is growing quickly and she’s catching the attention of everyone near her.

The last time you saw Callie the cub she was behind glass and not on view for the public but three and half months after she was born, she’s making her debut.

Callie is one of just two surviving Amur Tigers born this year and she’s catching everyone’s eye.

“It was a challenge and a learning process for all of our keepers here at the zoo,” Cassandra Sampson with the Great Plains Zoo said.

Now that her paws are pounding around a very public playground, it’s even harder for those who work with her to keep a watchful eye on her. Keepers have worked with Callie to teach her the natural behaviors of tigers, which is why she enjoys chasing after them. They all agree she’s caught on quickly.

It has to be at least 50 degrees for Callie to strut her stuff outside. She’ll still be bottle-fed formula and given canned meats for the next three weeks. During that time, she’ll spend many hours in the pen getting used to her new habitat. By then, the zoo is hoping she’ll be ready to be re-introduced to her mother and the other four Amur Tigers.

Callie may only weigh 30 pounds right now, but this little feline toddler who started out at just two and a half pounds will one day weigh a whopping 500 pounds. You can see her in the Asian Cat Habitat exhibit at the Great Plains Zoo.

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