New twin tigers for Australia Zoo

Twin tiger cubs have made their first public appearance at Australia Zoo.

Spot and Stripes are Sumatran Tigers. There are fewer than 500 Sumatran Tigers left in the wild and these are the first tigers ever to be born at the zoo.

Their mum, Kaitlyn, gave birth at the tourist attraction in Beerwah in August. Their debut appearance was to the media at a preview event, but the twins will now appear daily between 10am and 2pm, although the zoo advises that they can get tired and return to the den early.

Australia Zoo head tiger supervisor Giles Clark said that the birth of the tiger cubs is significant as it will help the Sumatran Tiger species to survive in captivity. Because there are so few Sumatran Tigers remaining, these new cubs add genetic diversity to the captive tiger population, he added.

SunshineCoastDaily.com.au said that Australia Zoo has been in operation for 43 years and never witnessed the birth of tiger cubs before now.