What:
Third graders from Evergreen School in Shoreline get an early holiday gift – a sneak peek at Woodland Park Zoo’s 3-month-old Sumatran tiger cubs! Media are invited to the preview Thursday, December 16. The two males, which remain unnamed, mark the second litter between 12-year-old mother JoJo and 11-year-old father Rakata (RAH-ka-ta).

The cubs will debut to the public Saturday, December 18, and will be on view 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. daily in an indoor exhibit in the Adaptations Building. Tiger fans can visit the Species Spotlight pages on the zoo’s Web site for images, video and periodic updates.

When:
Media preview: Thursday, December 16, 11:00 a.m.

Public viewing: begins Saturday, December 18, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. daily.

Where:
Meet at the zoo’s ARC building near the West Gate at N. 55th St. & Phinney Ave. N. Staff will escort you to the Adaptations Building. The ARC is locked. Late arrivals may enter through the West Gate and proceed to the exhibit.

Info:
The Sumatran tiger Species Survival Plan (SSP) is among 35 SSPs that Woodland Park Zoo participates in. The American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) oversees SSPs, which are cooperative breeding programs that work to ensure genetic diversity and demographic stability in North American zoos and aquariums.

All five tiger subspecies – Sumatran, Amur (Siberian), Bengal, Indochinese, and South China – are endangered with only 6,000-8,000 tigers remaining in the wild. The Sumatran is very rare with only about 400 believed to exist in the wild. The primary reasons for the decimation of wild tiger populations are illegal poaching and human overpopulation. Tiger bones and other body parts are used in traditional Asian medicines. For more information about the plight of tigers, visit www.5tigers.org.

Winter hours: 9:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. daily. For more information and how to become a zoo member, call 206.684.4800 or 684.4026 (TTY), or visit the zoo’s Web site at www.zoo.org.

Accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, top award-winning Woodland Park Zoo is famed for pioneering naturalistic exhibits and setting a standard for zoos all over the world. With conservation, education and excellent animal care at the core of the zoo’s mission, the zoo is helping to save endangered species in Washington state and around the world including tree kangaroos, snow leopards, red-crowned cranes, African wild dogs, western pond turtles and Oregon silverspot butterflies. By inspiring visitors and others to care and act, Woodland Park Zoo is making a difference in our planet’s future.