[Columbia, SC] - The 3-month old cubs and their mother will be on exhibit for limited periods of time every day while they adapt to their new environment.

"We're incredibly relieved that Koshka, a second-time mom, was able to successfully nurse this litter. Because she has reared them herself, they'll all be able to go on exhibit together," said John Davis, Riverbanks Zoo's Curator of Mammals.

The cubs, born on May 9, were named Nika, Kyra and Anya and at birth, weighed in at 2.82 lbs, 2.78 lbs and 2.42 lbs respectively. All three have been vaccinated and given a clean bill of health by Riverbanks' veterinary staff.

Koshka's two older cubs, born in 2003, were hand reared when Riverbanks' keepers realized she wasn't producing milk. Hand rearing three tiger cubs would have meant around the clock feedings and care on the part of the Zoo's keepers.

The three young cubs, as well as their older siblings, are particularly significant to the Amur tiger population. Both litters were sired by Riverbanks' long time resident male Globus, a wild caught tiger who was orphaned as a cub in Russia, then hand reared and brought to America. Since Globus' bloodline runs directly from the wild Amur tigers of Russia, he introduces an entirely new bloodline into the American captive tiger population. Globus gained instant fame in 1997 when he was featured on the cover of National Geographic magazine and again in 1998 when he appeared in Reader's Digest.

Thanks to a generous donation in memory of Laura J. Smith, a young woman whose love of Riverbanks tigers prompted her parents to erect a tiger overlook in front of the exhibit, guests can now see them from a better vantage point than ever before. In addition, the cubs and their mom may be seen on the SCE&G ZooView webcam in the near future. The webcam can be accessed by visiting www.riverbanks.org.