Cute little tiger. Photo courtesy of Luoyang Wangcheng Park Zoo
People's Daily Luoyang, March 8 (Shen Zhiyuan, Xiao Yimu) South China tiger, also known as the Chinese tiger, is a subspecies of tiger unique to the mainland and one of the world's endangered species. In 1985, Luoyang Wangcheng Park Zoo introduced two male and female South China tigers from Guangzhou, which opened a new chapter in the breeding of South China tigers.
Du Jianming was making milk powder for the little tiger. Photo courtesy of Luoyang Wangcheng Park Zoo
Du Jianming has been engaged in the management of tiger breeding and artificial breeding in South China for 7 years, and there is a great danger in dealing with tigers, and Du Jianming and his colleagues have paid a lot of time and energy for this.
In Du Jianming's eyes, the little tiger is like his own child. Photo courtesy of Luoyang Wangcheng Park Zoo
Du Jianming feels that dealing with these beasts requires the care and patience of female comrades, especially with these newborn cubs, and every time he picks them up, he feels like his own child.
Don't look at the adult South China tiger fierce and mighty, the newborn South China tiger cub weighs only about 1 kg, the resistance is very poor, if the mother tiger is not strong, will not bring their own baby, you need to put the cub into a constant temperature incubator in time, by artificial feeding.
Du Jianming fed the little tiger. Photo courtesy of Luoyang Wangcheng Park Zoo
Tiger cubs need to be artificially fed 6 to 8 times a day, every three or four hours. Newborn tiger cubs do not defecate on their own, and after each feeding, the nursery staff will give them a full-body massage, by imitating the licking action of the natural tigress to help the tiger digest and absorb, and promote defecation.
As the young tiger grows up day by day, after more than a month, they can "check out" from the incubator to the indoor ground activities.
Du Jianming and the little tiger together. Photo courtesy of Luoyang Wangcheng Park Zoo
"It is common to be bitten or caught by a tiger doing this work, and vaccinations are also common. However, when we see the little tiger cubs growing healthily and breeding smoothly under our careful feeding and care, we will have a strong sense of accomplishment, and all the hard work is worth it. Du Jianming said.