Thought Question: Think of a time you found a small piece of good news during a hard stretch. What did that moment do for you? In Cuba, where rolling energy blackouts have plagued the impoverished country for years, poet William Blake’s famous line about a “Tyger Tyger, burning bright in the forests of the night” might be an apt metaphor for the recent birth of four Bengal tiger cubs, an endangered species, at the country’s national zoo. The four kitties include a rare white cub. All were born July 3. That's the same day the Caribbean island’s main power plant suffered a major failure. Their birth also buoyed zoo workers. The staff struggles daily to care for the Zoológico Nacional de Cuba’s 1,500 animals. The births also brought joy to patrons. Many view these cubs as symbols of resilience for a troubled country. Angel Cordero is a 44-year zoo veteran. He calls the cubs “a little miracle.” “And I was there for (their birth),” Cordero told Reuters. The cubs' arrival comes as Cuba still suffers from chronic energy blackouts. They've plagued the country since 2022. A six-month US-imposed fuel blockade has made things worse. The blockade was put in place by President Trump. His goal is to force the current Communist government out of power. The power shortages have caused havoc with Cubans’ daily lives. They've led to low food supplies. They've delayed hospital treatments. And they've shut down public transportation. At the zoo, workers have turned to horses and buggies and electric bikes. They're using them to feed 130 species and maintain enclosures housing buffalo, hippopotamuses, zebras, and other animals across the 927-acre zoo. That’s because there isn’t enough diesel fuel to power their trucks. The country’s diesel reserves are fully drained. "Everything relies on fuel," Cordero told Reuters. Amid the crisis, zoo staffers are thankful for the small businesses that have come forward to donate supplies for the animals. Photo of rare white tiger cub in Cuba zoo from Reuters.
