Week 251 (13th – 19th June 2008)

Cathay breaks up a fight and Hulooo learns to garden

Both cubs can regularly be found eating alongside their mother as well as in-between, some of the bones I have picked up have had many minute score marks where the cubs have picked them clean. Cathay is often the centre of attention, receiving many admiring overt and covert, admiring glances from both 327 and TigerWoods, taking it all for granted.

Although the cubs spend a large portion of the day playing, some of these games become rough. I have been witness to one such happening. The game started off like any other but before long became serious. Both cubs had their ears flattened against their heads and were growling at one another, each trying to intimidate the other. This show of superiority continued until Cathay stepped in and broke off the fight with a judicial poke of her fore paw.

Hulooo is still as adorable as ever, but now has a new skill: gardener. Weeding outside his enclosure with my back to him I was pushing stones around in order to get to the weeds between, becoming aware of a sound behind me I turned around and to my amazement saw him pushing stones around with a front foot and as soon as he caught sight of me watching him, grabbed a mouthful of the nearest plant which he promptly spat out.

The weather this past week has been delightful; therefore the arrival of the cold front and the accompanying rain took us by surprise, turning the roads into muddy quagmires and holes into swimming pools. Thankfully tigers like water and the cubs had dry bedding to sleep in.