Three endangered white tiger cubs born at New Zealand

Three royal white Bengal tiger cubs were born at a wildlife park in northern New Zealand, boosting the number of the highly endangered big cats to 123 worldwide, park management said Monday.

The cubs, two males and one female, were born Oct. 2 at the Zion Wildlife Gardens on New Zealand's North Island. Park manager Nick Coc-Kroft said the royal white Bengal tiger has been extinct in the wild since 1958, and now can be seen only in captivity.

The three cubs bring the total number of the tigers worldwide to 123, Coc-Kroft said. Two of the tiger cubs will be sent to a world heritage reserve in South Africa in a few months and the other cub will be retained for the garden's breeding program, Coc-Kroft said, AP reports.

A. A.