London Zoo announces birth of endangered tiger cub

LONDON — Call it Cub Cam: Hidden cameras have captured the birth of a Sumatran tiger cub, London Zoo’s first in 17 years.

The zoo announced Wednesday that five-year-old tiger Melati had given birth to the cub on Sept. 22 following a six-minute labor.

It said zookeepers had kept Melati’s 105-day pregnancy under wraps so they could keep a careful eye on the tiger, installing hidden cameras so as not to disturb the first-time mother.

The cub is the grandchild of the zoo’s last tiger cub, Hari — the father of Melati.

The cub — whose sex and name are not yet known — was born six months after the opening of the zoo’s new “tiger territory” exhibit, which is designed to encourage breeding of the critically endangered species.

The zoo said its new arrival will not be shown for a few weeks.