Zoo’s young Sumatran tigers are Aussie bound

Auckland City Council

Media release

26 October 2010

Auckland Zoo’s young Sumatran tigers are Aussie bound

Two young Sumatran tigers from Auckland Zoo fly out to Australia this afternoon as part of an international conservation breeding programme to assist this critically endangered big cat.

Two-year-old male Jalur and his female sibling Cinta, along with their brother Berani, became the first tigers ever to be bred at Auckland Zoo when they were born in June 2008. Jalur and Cinta will now call Symbio Wildife Park, south of Sydney, home.

The pair will travel in the hold of a Boeing 763. Their keeper, Sandra Rice, who has played a key role in crate training the cats to prepare them for their journey, will settle them in for their flight and travel on the same aircraft with them. The two siblings will be quarantined at Mogo Zoo for 30 days before their move to Symbio Wildlife Park.

“It’s tough seeing these gorgeous cats leave us – they’re both great natured animals. Along with all those Zoo visitors who have followed them closely growing up, we are really going to miss them. However, the bigger picture of these tigers being able to, in time, go on to breed, and continue to progress their role as advocates for tigers in the wild, is what our efforts are all about,” says Sandra Rice. “It’s hugely satisfying to have reached this milestone.”

Jalur and Cinta are the offspring of first-time parents, female Molek’ and male Oz – who has contributed a valuable new bloodline to the Australasian region. Worldwide, there are fewer than 160 Sumatran tigers in zoos and less than 400 remaining in the wild.

"The captive population of Sumatran tigers has never been more important as conservationists and officials struggle to protect the few remaining wild animals and their habitat Key tiger habitat continues to be deforested to meet the unsustainable demand for both the palm oil and paper industries,” says Auckland Zoo conservation officer, Peter Fraser

“Recent WWF camera footage (www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu-6taW9JNk ) of illegal forest clearing in Sumatra's state forest, Bukit Batabuh in Riau Province – prime tiger habitat – highlights the pressure these animals are under. Numbers are so precariously low that such activities may be the last straw for this species in the wild,” says Mr Fraser.

NOTES TO THE EDITOR

Captive breeding for any endangered species is an insurance policy, not a solution. To contribute to solving the underlying problems, zoos are increasingly working together, and with other organisations, to support conservation projects in the wild.

Conservation Projects: Through its Conservation Fund, Auckland Zoo has joined with already supporting organisations – Zoo Aquarium Association (Australasia) and the European Association of Zoos & Aquaria (EAZA) to assist 21st Century Tiger’s project - Kerinci Seblat National Park.

World Heritage Site, Kerinci Seblat, which encompasses 14,000km, is one of the most important tiger reserves in South-east Asia. Auckland Zoo contributes to funding tiger protection and conservation units that are working hard to halt the poaching and trafficking of tigers.

Auckland Zoo also funds Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP) wildlife protection units in Sumatra’s Bukit Tigapuluh National Park – home to Sumatran tiger, the Asian rhino and Asian elephant, as well as the orangutan.

Bukit Batabuh, where WWF recently filmed, acts as a wildlife corridor - connecting Rimbang Baling Wildlife Reserve and Bukit Tigapuluh National Park, making it a crucial area for tiger conservation. Visit:www.wwf.org.uk/wwf_articles.cfm?unewsid=4281

Buy Palm Oil Free

• Palm oil is used in at least one out of every 10 supermarket products, including food, cosmetics, cleaning and bath products. The kernel is also used to make animal feed.
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• The only way to slow oil palm plantation expansion is to reduce palm oil consumption. For Auckland Zoo’s Palm Oil Free Shopping Guide, visit www.aucklandzoo.co.nz
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