Thanks to a hidden “cubcam,” the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) gave the world some truly adorable—and super rare—footage of a mama tiger giving birth to triplets.
The video shows Gaysha, a 10-year-old Sumatran tiger, carefully tending to her three little newborns in a cozy den filled with straw by the ZSL zookeepers. Even Asim, proud tiger dad, makes an appearance as he pops in to welcome each cub. At one point, the entire tiger family can be seen sleeping together peacefully. It doesn’t get much sweeter than that. Aside from nothing being cuter than baby animals, there’s something else that makes this footage particularly special. Sumatran tigers are not only the smallest of their species (a male Sumatran tiger maxes out at about 310 pounds, compared to a Siberian tiger, which can weigh up to 660), they are also the rarest. With fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers remaining, the World Wildlife Fund has deemed this subspecies critically endangered.
The good news is, each new birth brings in a little more hope for all Sumatran tigers. And according to a statement on the ZSL website, the zoo has added a total of eight cubs to its Tiger Territory since its launch in 2013. Before her summertime triplets, Gaysha had previously delivered a tiger cub near Christmas time in 2021. Now with triple the babies, we have triple the reasons to celebrate.
London Zoo Head of Predators Kathyrn Sanders shared that since their early morning arrival on June 27, the tiger babies have already reached a “key milestone”—feeding and taking small steps almost immediately. Pretty soon they will be ready to open their eyes, receive vaccinations and be named. Until then, the zookeeper will be observing from afar, “taking care not to disturb the family so that they can continue to bond together.”
You can watch the video below. Enjoy all the stripy goodness.