New tiger at the National Zoo may bring 1st cubs in 73 years through rare breeding program

WASHINGTON (7News) — The Smithsonian’s National Zoo is introducing a new 5-year-old Amur tiger, named Metis, after he arrived from the Indianapolis Zoo in April.

"The new guy in town is calm, curious and cautious," the National Zoo said. "In other words, he’s one cool cat."

Metis came from Indiana on a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan (SSP). The National Zoo's 9-year-old female Amur tiger, Nikita, is considered "genetically valuable," the zoo says.

"If all goes well and they show interest in one another, keepers will wait until she goes into estrus to introduce them in the same space," according to a zoo statement. "Adult female tigers go into estrus roughly once a month (sometimes, they skip a month or two), and that is when they are receptive to sharing a space and breeding."

If Metis and Nikita were to breed and she conceives, the zoo says her gestation period would be just over three months. Typically, Amur tigers that live in zoos tend to breed in the winter months.

"The Zoo has not had Amur tiger cubs since 1948—73 years ago—so the Great Cats team is excited and cautiously optimistic at the possibility of breeding this species," according to a zoo statement.

If you plan to visit the zoo soon, the Great Cats team says Mestis is easy to tell apart from Nikita and female Sumatran tiger Damai.

"At 360 pounds, he is the largest of all three cats. Nikita comes in second, tipping the scales at 275 pounds. Last but not least, Damai is the Zoo’s most petite tiger, weighing in at 200 pounds."

Metis is settling in nicely so far, zookeepers say.

"Initially, Metis was quite cautious when he arrived at the Zoo," a statement says. "Now that he has settled into his new home, Metis is quite calm and relaxed."

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