Auckland City Council
Media release
1 September 2008
Cast your vote for tiger cub names
The competition to name Auckland Zoo’s three 12-week-old tiger cubs has reached the next round, with the zoo asking the
public to cast the deciding vote via an online poll. The zoo received hundreds of name suggestions for the cubs and
keepers have narrowed the selection down to three per cub. Members of the public can vote in a free online poll for
their preferred name as many times as they like until Friday 5 September.
The winning names will be announced on Monday, 8 September. “We are thrilled with the amount of name entries we
received. Not only did each entry financially support tiger conservation, but you could see how much passion there is
out there, with people putting a great deal of thought into the names they chose,” says Auckland Zoo carnivore keeper,
Sandra Rice.
“The cubs are now 12-weeks-old and we are starting to see their personalities emerge, so we have tried to choose names
that reflect these. For example, one of the names in the running for the more dominant male is ‘Indali’ (powerful). It
will be interesting to see what the public vote for.” People wanting to vote for names can do so online at Auckland
Zoo’s website www.aucklandzoo.co.nz/tigers and also see “cubcam” footage of the cubs. The cubs are expected to be on
display in Visa Entertainment Tiger Territory within the next few weeks.
Cub Names and Meanings
Male Cub 1
Jalur (Malay) Meaning stripes.
Indali (Hindu) Meaning powerful
Talu A place in Sumatra Male Cub 2
Jahe (Indonesian) Meaning ginger. Pronounced Jahay
Berani (Indonesian) Meaning spirited, brave, courageous
Kediri A place in Sumatra
Female Cub
Ndari (Indonesian) Meanging full moon Pronounced Indary.
Kartika (Indonesian) Several meanings in different languages, but keepers like the Indonesian meaning which is 'The
Great' Cinta (Indonesian) Meaning love
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ABOUT AUCKLAND ZOO
Auckland Zoo is an enterprise of Auckland City Council. It is home to the largest collection of native and exotic
wildlife species in New Zealand (over 1300 animals and 179 species) and attracts over half a million visitors annually.
It is becoming increasingly well known nationally and internationally through the award-winning television programme,
'The Zoo'. At the heart of all Auckland Zoo's work and activities is its mission: "to focus the Zoo’s resources to
benefit conservation and provide exciting visitor experiences which inspire and empower people to take positive action
for wildlife and the environment". Auckland Zoo is a member of both the Australasian Regional Association of Zoological
Parks & Aquaria (ARAZPA) and the World Association of Zoos & Aquariums (WAZA).
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