Tiger Cub Swimming Test

Two rare Sumatran tiger cubs were born at the National Zoo in Washington on August 5th. Since then, the male cub Bandar and his sister Sukacita have been in seclusion with their mother. The cubs are now old enough to go on public display, but first they must pass a swimming test, as their public enclosure is surrounded by a moat. That test came Wednesday, in front of a crowd of appreciative journalists.

The cubs were placed one at a time into the moat, in which zookeepers were waiting to help in case of emergency. Both cubs were able to make their way to the water's edge, which means they can make their public debut as planned on November 18th. See more pictures and watch a video of the event at DCist. -via Arbroath

(Image credit: Smithsonian's National Zoo)