|  Sumatran
tigers earn their stripes!
Cubs make public debut.
Woodland Park Zoo was pleased when our 12-year-old mother
JoJo and 11-year-old father Rakata (RAH-ka-ta) became the
parents of two male cubs on September 13. These cubs, the
second litter for this pair, are important for the genetic
diversity of all tigers. About 2 pounds when born, they now
weigh about 70 pounds each (2/28/2005). They have recently been named by staff; Langka (LONG-ka), Indonesian for "rare", and Manis (Maw-NEES), Indonesian for "sweet."
Only
about 400 Sumatran tigers still exist in the
wild on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Only
five
species of tigers remain: South China, Amur
or Siberian, Sumatran, Indo-Chinese and Bengal.
Three others, the Bali, Javan and Caspian tiger
sub-species have gone extinct within the last
100 years, mostly due to overhunting. In fact,
habitat
destruction and poaching for their body parts
are the main threats to wild tigers.
The
breeding of tigers in zoos is important for their
overall
survival. At the core is the Species
Survival
Plan for tigers, a cooperative breeding program
administered through the American Association
of Zoos and Aquariums
that works to ensure genetic diversity and
demographic stability of tiger species in North
American
zoos. A healthy zoo population helps scientists
study
tigers in order to help understand the needs
of their wild
counterparts!
NOTE: The tiger cubs have now moved to other zoos for breeding purposes (10/23/2006).
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