Tiger Cubs Entertain Zoo Crowd

TAMPA - It takes a lot of energy to be a crowd-pleasing tiger cub.

But it didn't take much pouncing, pawing or purring on the parts of Alex and Ashley, the Bengal tiger cubs at Lowry Park Zoo, to win over their new fans Saturday at a special baby shower held in their honor.

'They're very cute,' 8-year-old Danielle Lail of Tampa said.

She snapped a photo of the cubs in their zoo habitat and smiled. Saturday was her third visit to see them, and Lail said she plans to come back.

The cubs' parents, Nikki and Yala, were donated to the zoo in January, Assistant Curator Chris Massaro said. Nikki was pregnant at the time and gave birth to Alex and Ashley on April 16.

The cubs weigh about 20 pounds each. Zookeepers recently started to wean them from their mother's milk onto a meat diet, he said.

Their visitors were treated to something more appealing to human children: tiger-striped 'cub' cakes and punch.

Kim Duxbury, 16, of Clearwater said she was excited to see the exhibit because of her career plans.

'I'm going to be a wildlife biologist and work with big cats,' she said. 'I've wanted to do that for years and years. I've always loved animals. Tigers and big cats caught my attention because they're so endangered and I really want to help them.'

She's studied the animals and their characteristics.

'They're white because of a recessive gene from a time when tigers lived in the Arctic Circle,' Duxbury said. 'As they migrated south, they adapted their colors to fit into the environment.'

Monochromatic as they might be, the cubs made great photo opportunities for many, including amateur photographer Denise Ragsdale of Tampa.

As Ragsdale snapped away, she said the access was limiting.

'The sun is at a bad angle, the windows are dirty and the wires are in the way,' she said. 'All of which is for our safety, of course, but it doesn't make for good photographs.'

Despite the obstacles, she said she'll likely sell some of the prints.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: White tiger cubs

WHERE: Lowry Park Zoo, 1101 W. Sligh Ave.

WHEN: 9:30 a.m. to noon; zoo open until 5 p.m.

HOW MUCH: Admission is $16.95 for ages 12 to 59, $15.95 for ages 60 and older, $12.50 for ages 3 to 11 and free for ages 2 and younger.

INFORMATION: Call (813) 935-8552 or visit www.lowryparkzoo.com.