One of the most exciting things in life is when, well, new life springs forth. Whether it’s the first rosebud after a long winter, an ultrasound photo of a human baby, or a new baby being born in the animal kingdom, all new life is inspiring and somewhat magical.

While we love inspiring stories of human babies who were born in miraculous ways, like this postmenopausal surrogate who gave birth to her own grandson, we also love stories about extraordinary animal births.

For instance, BBC Earth was there to record a mama tiger when she gave birth to twin tiger cubs at the Australia Zoo. This tiger was a first time mom, so we can imagine that she didn’t entirely know what to expect, but thankfully, her animal instincts were right on.

You see, the first baby tiger wasn’t breathing when he was born. He made a few gasps for air, but more than two minutes went by without the cub truly breathing properly. Mom did what cats naturally do when their babies are born. She licked the cub, and licked and licked and licked.

Her licking was a way of cleaning the cub. This licking is similar to what a nurse might do in the hospital when a human baby is born. A nurse might wipe away the amniotic fluid and suction any fluid out of the baby’s nose so that he could breath easily.

Mama tiger’s licking would hopefully stimulate the cub to breath and clear the airways. There’s no way to know if mama tiger was worried about her baby or not, but the staff at the Australia Zoo, who were watching on a TV monitor, were on the edge of their seats.

Finally, the baby cub took a couple normal breaths. Mama tiger did her job and did it amazingly well. The tiger responded with his first ever sound, and the staff at the zoo clapped and cheered. Everyone was relieved and even joyful.

Mama tiger wasn’t done yet though. She was having twins. We’re sure everyone was hopeful that the second baby would have an easier time breathing than the first. His birth ended up being quite a bit different than that of his brother’s.

While the first cub was lifeless and struggling to breath for the first few minutes of his life, the second cub was immediately moving around and breathing easily.

Watch the video below to see mama tiger give birth to her twin boys. She makes it look so easy.