Whats happening
Auckland Zoo young Sumatran tigers are Aussie bound
26 October 2010
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, who along with their brother Berani became the first tigers ever to be bred at Auckland Zoo when born in June 2008, will now call Symbio Wildife Park, south of Sydney, home.
Jalur and Cinta 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, and we, along with all those Zoo visitors who have followed them closely growing up, 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 ABOUT TIGER CONSERVATION
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.
• 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 here.