Can this tiger king still make tiger babies? That’s what vets at Zoo Miami want to know
Does Berani, a 12-year-old Sumatran tiger, still have the right stuff to make cubs?
Or is the problem with his mate, Leloo?
That’s what vets at Zoo Miami are trying to figure out since the still frisky couple still get down to business on occasion. But aside from one successful siring, Satu, in 2015, all the subsequent breedings have resulted in false pregnancies, according to zoo spokesman Ron Magill.
On Monday, Berani was immobilized so that he could receive an examination to evaluate his fertility to determine whether this South Florida tiger king could still make tiger babies.
“We should get the blood tests back in about a week regarding the testosterone,” Magill said. “We did the test on his sperm during the procedure and the results were very poor with a very low sperm count that was highly diluted and not favorable for successful reproduction.”
Female tigers may have as many as seven cubs at a time, Live Science reported. These tiger babies weight about 2.2 pounds.
This story was originally published July 28, 2020 at 10:21 AM.
