A Bengal tiger cub is being cared for by humans at Nicaragua's National Zoo after its mother was unable to produce the milk necessary to feed the latest little addition to the endangered species, the zoo's director Eduardo Sacasa said Tuesday.

A baby Bengal tiger is seen only a few days after birth at Nicaragua's National Zoo August 30, 2021
A baby Bengal tiger is seen only a few days after birth at Nicaragua's National Zoo August 30, 2021 AFP / INTI OCON

The tiger, which was born on Saturday, is the fourth of its kind to be born at the National Zoo in Masaya, some 20 miles (30 kilometers) south of the capital Managua.

A baby Bengal tiger is seen only a few days after birth at Nicaragua's National Zoo August 30, 2021
A baby Bengal tiger is seen only a few days after birth at Nicaragua's National Zoo August 30, 2021 AFP / INTI OCON

The four-day-old baby, who does not yet have a name, is "being fed with a special milk for cats," Sacasa said.

Factfile on wild tiger population and range.
Factfile on wild tiger population and range. AFP / Gal ROMA

"She is very sweet," he said.

A Bengal tiger cub is being cared for by humans at Nicaragua's National Zoo after its mother was unable to produce the milk necessary to feed her cub.
A Bengal tiger cub is being cared for by humans at Nicaragua's National Zoo after its mother was unable to produce the milk necessary to feed her cub. AFPTV / Inti OCON

"We're taking care of her so that she survives -- this is a difficult period for her because she did not get any colostrum for her natural defenses," Sacasa explained, referring to the early nutrient-dense milk mammals produce right after birth.

The cub's mother Dalila had given birth to a female white tiger cub -- called Nieve, or snow -- in December, but that baby died of respiratory problems only two weeks later, despite the special care given by the zoo.

Nicaragua's National Zoo has two other female tigers that have also given birth.

Bengal tigers are listed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species as in danger of extinction, thanks to hunting and deforestation of its natural habitat in Asia.