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HAVANA: For Cuban zookeeper, the sight of four Bengal tiger cubs playing in a cage at the Cuban National Zoo is a small miracle on an island stifled by shortages of fuel, medicine and days-long power outages.
The birth of these endangered big cats — including an exceedingly rare white tiger — has revitalised a team of zoo workers, he says, who arrive daily to feed nearly a thousand animals.
“It’s only the second time” white tigers have been born in Cuba, he said, gleaming with pride despite the heat and strain of dealing with seemingly endless problems. “And I was there for it.” Cordero, who has worked at the zoo for 44 years, has witnessed decades of hardship on the island. But he describes the situation following the U.S. imposition of an oil blockade as an unprecedented challenge for the lion and tiger enclosures he himself helped build.
Workers require 20 liters of diesel fuel daily to distribute food to the zoo’s varied array of animals, including buffalo, zebras, rhinoceroses, and hippopotamuses. They receive only a five-liter allotment daily, far short of what is needed for proper feeding and maintenance.
