The joy of birth is always amazing, especially if it happens in a zoo. Nonetheless, it’s always an incredibly stressful moment for all crew members involved, very much in this case.

A pregnant mother tiger named Katelin was expected to give birth to two cubs, but the birth certainly didn’t go as expected.

It was the first time that Katelin was pregnant and no one really knew how she would react or respond to labor. When she started having contractions, the staff noticed that she became increasingly restless and stressful. Essential staff members were present, while the rest of the zoo employees could follow the whole thing live via a television outside.

Katelin underwent five hours of labor, and the staff was in shock after she delivered the first cub.

When the first baby arrived, walkie talkies were red hot as the essential staff was extremely worried. The small cat wasn’t breathing, even two minutes after he was born. It was just a completely lifeless and limp body, and people in the room already started fearing the worst.

Luckily, the mother’s instincts kicked in.

Katelin started licking her baby, hoping that that the licks would actually make his own instincts to breathe kick in. It turns out that she was absolutely right, and the baby cub slowly started to come by. It didn’t take long before this baby tiger started breathing normally and laid next to his mom.

After this extremely stressful moment, the shelter staff was already understandably concerned for the next baby.

The contractions started again, and the second baby was about to be delivered.

Luckily, it seemed like these three have already been through the worst. Everyone who was watching applauded when she gave birth to the second cub, and even though he also had difficulties breathing at first, he came by much more easily. After just a short moment, it was clear that these two baby tigers would be just fine, and mom was noticeably relieved as well. She cuddled with them and then rested a bit for herself.

The shelter staff made sure to keep a very close eye on all three of them after this difficult and stressful birth.

The shelter staff really enjoyed the day after the birth, as mom allowed them to come close to both her and her babies, whereas tigers usually get very protective over their newborns. Of course, they’ll keep monitoring the situation until they’re completely out of the woods and to make sure that they’re growing up properly.

It’s just absolutely clear that this mom will take very good care of her newborn twins, and just look at that adorable smile! The caretakers will also be there at all times to make sure that the three of them will always be safe and have everything they need.

The birth was captured by cameras from BBC Earth, and the footage is just absolutely amazing to see. Be sure to check it out for yourself below.

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Source: BBC Earth