Tiger Cubs Debut at Macon Festival

Last Update: 3/27/2008 7:04:52 PM
Author: Evan Pinsonnault
Web Editor: Kari Webb

Ossira, Ravi and Sahib.

Those are the three new stars at the 2008 Cherry Blossom Festival in Macon.

They're entertainers, but they don't sing. They're performers, but they don't dance.

"They're baby Bengal tigers, two striped and one white," said trainer Mike Inks. "There's only about 20 snow-white tigers in the world, so it's pretty special to have a baby at this year's festival."

Before making their big debut this weekend, the baby tigers played with toy balls and wrestled each other in their own "playpen" cage.

"We're hoping everyone will want to come out and see them this year," said Inks. "They're each 7-months old, native to India, and very fun to watch."

13WMAZ's Junior Journalist Rebecka Bence was the first member of the media in the world to see the three baby Bengal tigers, according to Inks.

"I thought they were amazing... something I've never seen before or will ever forget," said Rebecka. "I think people will be very surprised at how big they look for babies."

You can see the baby Bengals this weekend and throughout next week at Central City Park.

The Cherry Blossom Festival runs from Friday, March 28 to Sunday, April 6.

http://www.13wmaz.com/news/local_story.aspx?storyid=50659

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