@sfzoo via Twitter
A Sumatran tiger with her new cub at the San Francisco Zoo.
It's a ... cub!
A Sumatran tiger gave birth at the San Francisco Zoo on Sunday, a big lift to a species that was classified as critically endangered in 2008.
Officials at the zoo won't know the sex of the baby for two more weeks, but say "Junior" is active and healthy. The zoo posted a photo of the tiger caring for her new cub on both Twitter and Facebook.
"Congrats to our Sumatran tigers Leanne and Larry on the birth of their cub last Sunday!!," the zoo tweeted.
Junior gestated in 9-year-old Leanne's womb for 109 days before being born at 1:29 p.m. on Sunday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Larry, the 6-year-old dad, had been flown in from a New Orleans zoo.
"Mom is really attentive; she's grooming, she's paying attention to the infant," the zoo's Corinne MacDonald told the newspaper.
"The infant makes sounds, it coos. It'll scream and screech and cry when it gets real hungry. We can really see (Leanne) choosing to get up only when the infant is really sound asleep, so she's a great mother."
Junior was just the second tiger born at the San Francisco Zoo since 1976. Zoo visitors will have to wait at least a month to see "Junior," but many people are flocking to Twitter and Facebook to check out photos and updates.
"We are thrilled with this birth," head of the zoo Tanya Peterson told the Chronicle. "Sumatran tigers are a critically endangered species ... which makes every birth so impactful for these beautiful animals."
dboroff@nydailynews.com
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