Bengal tiger

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay animal care specialist Kelley Sotomayor plays with Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris) Jamoki and his sister, Jafari, right. The two cubs arrived December 8, 2000, via first class seats on a TWA jet from St. Louis, Missouri. The cubs were transferred to Busch Gardens from the City of St. Louis Department of Environmental Health after being confiscated from a private owner. The 13-pound cubs each consumed a daily diet of one pound of meat. Tigers can weigh 400 to 600 pounds when full grown, making them the largest existing member of the cat family. It is estimated that there are less than 3,000 Bengal tigers left in the wild. The cubs brought the tiger group at Busch Gardens to five, including two rare white tigers.

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