WATCH: 'Singing' tiger gains popularity on social media

A young tiger at a zoo in the Siberian city of Barnaul is quickly gaining popularity on social media as it can carry a tune that apparently sounds like singing. 

According to media reports, the keepers at the Forest Fairy Tale zoo said that the big cat has been singing almost since birth and make such a voice to get his mother’s attention.

“The eight-month-old male Amur tiger cub is not in pain and makes the high-pitched sounds when he is trying to attract attention,” the zoo officials said.

It sure is not a perfect pitch, but it’s definitely unlike any sound you’ve heard come out of a tiger’s mouth before.

He’s just going through the tiger version of puberty, kind of – tigers’ vocal cords are “not designed for such high-pitched notes”, zoo employee explained to a local media outlet.

“The cub is feeling very well indeed, his throat is not hurting. This is the call he used since very early after birth to distract his mother from all other cubs and grab her attention,” the zoo employee added.

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The ‘singing’ Amur Tiger cub was born in June 2020 as part of a litter of four. Their parents are Sherkhan and Bagheera.

Amur tigers are the world’s largest cats, and were once on the brink of extinction. They’re now clawing their way back. Most of the population – some 600 – live in the far east of Russia.