Woodland Park Zoo Press Release

What:
A year ago, an endangered Sumatran tiger was born at Woodland Park Zoo during an infamous Seattle windstorm. Two weeks later, on Christmas Eve, the female cub again made local headlines when she needed to be taken to the zoo’s veterinary hospital for critical supportive care. Today, Hadiah (HA-dee-yah) continues to thrive as an ambassador of tigers in the wild. The community is invited to celebrate her milestone first birthday as zookeepers treat the 166-pound cat to a papier mache´reindeer smeared with cinnamon. While supplies last, visitors can enjoy birthday cake and sing “Happy Birthday."

Hadia - One Year Old
Photo: Ryan Hawk

When:
Wednesday, December 12, 11:00 a.m.

Where:
Woodland Park Zoo’s outdoor tiger exhibit at Adaptations. Meet at the ARC near the West Entrance at N. 55th St. & Phinney Ave. N. The ARC is a locked building. If late, enter through the admissions gate and head directly to the exhibit.

Info:
Hadiah, meaning “gift” in Malay/Indonesian, was named in a public naming poll that drew nearly 7,000 votes on the zoo’s website. She represents the sole offspring in the third litter between 15-year-old mother JoJo and 13-year-old Rakata (RAH-ka-ta). At 2 weeks old, Hadiah was taken to the nursery for critical supportive care when the mother stopped showing consistent maternal care. She remained under human care for more than two months, spending half of her time where the parents live so she could see, hear and smell other tigers. Video and photos on YouTube and the zoo’s website allowed the community and web users all over the world to be a part of Hadiah’s daily life as zoo staff provided high quality care for her in the zoo’s nursery. Hadiah was not reintroduced to her mother, but has regular visual contact with both parents.

All six tiger subspecies – Sumatran, Amur (Siberian), Bengal, Indochinese, Malayan 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 most critically endangered is the South China tiger with only a mere 20 to 30 remaining in the wild. The primary reasons for the decimation of wild tiger populations are illegal poaching, human overpopulation, and habitat destruction.

The zoo is open 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily during the winter and is closed Christmas day. Admission: Adult (13-64) $10.50; Child (3-12) $7.50; Toddler (0-2) Free. Seniors and people with disabilities receive a discount and zoo members receive free zoo admission year round. Parking: $4.00. For more information and how to become a zoo member, call 206.684.4800 or 684.4026 (TTY), or visit www.zoo.org.

Accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA), award-winning Woodland Park Zoo is famed for pioneering naturalistic exhibits and setting international standards for zoos all over the world. Conservation, education and excellent animal care are at the core of the zoo’s mission. The zoo is helping to save animals and their habitats 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 people to care and act, Woodland Park Zoo is making a difference in our planet’s future.