Re. names, both Auckland and Hamilton will likely hold naming competitions for the cubs. Would strongly encourage anyone on here to enter any names they like! There's a sure fire chance one may be selected.
Australasian Sumatran Tiger Population
- Thread starter Zoofan15
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Re. names, both Auckland and Hamilton will likely hold naming competitions for the cubs. Would strongly encourage anyone on here to enter any names they like! There's a sure fire chance one may be selected.
In recent years, Auckland Zoo have done an auction where the winner gets an encounter with the animal and it’s baby and then gets to choose a name from a list of pre-selected names. I’m not a fan of this as an open naming competition is more community inclusive and so I hope this is the route they take (as they did recently for the giraffe).
Hamilton’s curator previously hinted at a public naming competition, so my fingers are crossed that will be the case. It’s a big event with these three cubs being the first surviving cubs in a New Zealand zoo since 2014. No doubt there will be some level of coordination, so we don’t end up with two Melati’s (a popular Indonesian name), one at each zoo.
ApeLadyNZ
Well-Known Member
I too prefer the public naming competitions to the auctions, even though with open naming contest you'll inevitably get nominations of "Tigger" or "Kitty" or the ever present "Tiger McTigerface"!
As far as Auckland's cub goes, I would love to see her get a name that reflects her high value and isn't widely used for tigers as far as I know. Perhaps Harta (treasure), Permata (jewel), Dewi (goddess or divine) or Putri (princess) or something of that nature?
Interesting that Melati is a common choice for tigresses! I would have thought it would be a more common choice for female orangutans and might have been appropriate as a name for a daughter of Melur, if she had had one. Continuing the tradition, if you will, since Melur's mother was called Yasmin (jasmine flower), Melur is the Malay version of the same, and Melati would be the Indonesian variant!
I too prefer the public naming competitions to the auctions, even though with open naming contest you'll inevitably get nominations of "Tigger" or "Kitty" or the ever present "Tiger McTigerface"!
As far as Auckland's cub goes, I would love to see her get a name that reflects her high value and isn't widely used for tigers as far as I know. Perhaps Harta (treasure), Permata (jewel), Dewi (goddess or divine) or Putri (princess) or something of that nature?
Interesting that Melati is a common choice for tigresses! I would have thought it would be a more common choice for female orangutans and might have been appropriate as a name for a daughter of Melur, if she had had one. Continuing the tradition, if you will, since Melur's mother was called Yasmin (jasmine flower), Melur is the Malay version of the same, and Melati would be the Indonesian variant!
We’ve had two Melati’s within the last couple of decades. Perth Zoo named a tigeress from their 2008 litter ‘Melati’. She tragically died at London Zoo (killed by her prospective mate). Dreamworld named one of their hybrids ‘Melati’.
I like the idea of Auckland’s cub being named something reflecting her value (jewel is ideal). She will surely be in high demand within the region, with Orana hopefully at the top of that list.
The baby name list names tend to get overused, so turning to geography (names of Sumatran villages) or flora (names of trees in Sumatra etc) may be the way to go.
ApeLadyNZ
Well-Known Member
Yes, definitely, the Indonesian "people" names like Indah or Basuki tend to get overused for animals from that region. I do like the idea of various nature names, whether trees or flowers (but not Melati or Mawar this time around, please!
) A couple of place names I do like are Medan and Riau, both Sumatran place names. Medan has been used for an orangutan before, but I don't think it's come up for tigers all that much.I agree that there have been some lovely suggestions for naming the tiger cubs.
I wonder whether a name will be selected for the male cub who passed away as well. Considering he lived for four weeks, it would be a touching tribute, although I understand if zoo staff chose to keep it private even if they did suggest a name.
I wonder whether a name will be selected for the male cub who passed away as well. Considering he lived for four weeks, it would be a touching tribute, although I understand if zoo staff chose to keep it private even if they did suggest a name.
My instinct is say no as there’s no precedent of this being done in the region for tigers. The twin sister of Jambi (1988) died at three months of age and didn’t receive a name; and the many other cubs that died in their first month similarly went nameless.
It has been done is a few other species:
Darli (Bornean orangutan) - died the day after she was born at Auckland Zoo in 2000. The loss of her mother the next day made the event particularly tragic and she was named in honour of her parents.
Amara (Pygmy hippopotamus) - a naming competition had been in progress prior to her death at Taronga Zoo in 2021, with that name shortly to be announced as the winner.
Willow (Asian elephant) - died at Melbourne Zoo at six weeks of age, with Willow revealed to be her barn name. She would have received a Thai name had she survived.
Amara (Pygmy hippopotamus) - a naming competition had been in progress prior to her death at Taronga Zoo in 2021, with that name shortly to be announced as the winner.
Willow (Asian elephant) - died at Melbourne Zoo at six weeks of age, with Willow revealed to be her barn name. She would have received a Thai name had she survived.
I imagine in this case, with a healthy female cub to focus on, the emphasis will be on moving forward.
For the record though, I agree it’s a nice idea. Perhaps a name like ‘Kemarin’, which is Indonesian for ‘yesterday’. It’s a name that evokes reflection; while focussing on the future (the surviving cub).
Memphis Zoo in the United States has applied for a permit to import male Pemanah and female Mawar from Taronga Zoo. Mawar will move from Memphis Zoo to Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, Washington within 30-60 days of her arrival in Memphis.
Regulations.gov
Regulations.gov
Fantastic news! When it was first mentioned tigers would be sent to the US, I immediately thought of these tigers given they’re the grandchildren of Kaitlyn (Indonesian import):
1.0 Pemanah (17/01/2019) Clarence x Kartika
0.1 Mawar (17/01/2019) Clarence x Kartika
This leaves Taronga Zoo with the following:
1.0 Kembali (20/08/2011) Satu x Jumilah
0.1 Kartika (20/08/2011) Satu x Jumilah
1.0 Clarence (22/08/2013) Ramalon x Kaitlyn
0.1 Tengah Malam (17/01/2019) Clarence x Kartika
————————
It seems apparent Taronga will now source a male to breed with Tengah Malam. It’s so unfortunate Auckland Zoo’s male cub didn’t survive as otherwise that would have been perfect:
Male cub to Taronga to breed with Tengah
Female cub to Orana to breed with Reggie
An interesting note from the document that Tengah Malam (female littermate) was originally intended to go in her sister’s place, though no reason for this substitution is provided. It’d be interesting to know if this change was based on something logistical (Mawar responding better to crate training); or regarding their personalities, with Mawar presumably assessed as a better fit for emigrating to the US.
Auckland Zoo retained Nisha over her sister Malu, due to the latter being shy and poorly suited to the zoo’s tiger exhibit at the time (a lion pit built in 1922). Assertive males and shy females often make for a compatible pairing and indeed Malu welcomed cubs the year after she arrived at Perth.
Great news and the first overseas exports by the region in over a decade (since Melati to London back in 2012).
It's clear all of the cubs would've never all been in breeding situations within the region so an overseas export was clearly the best option to ensure they were able to contribute to the worldwide breeding program in some way or another.
I would very much hope that there's an overseas import planned in turn to acquire a mate for Tengah, rather than obtaining one from within the region. Options are limited; but I guess they could try with an older, valuable male (such as Mati/Indra at Mogo). Other than that, they'd have to wait for Ramah and Zayana's next litter (likely still a few years away) and hope that there's a male apart of that litter (which isn't guaranteed). By the time that cub matures and can be sent over, Tengah will be approaching her tenth birthday so not ideal.
I'd assume it would be something logistical wise - as evident with the documents, this move has been in the plans for more than six months now so they would've likely assessed one of the two sisters more suitable to moving initially.
Interestingly, the current male at Point Defiance is also Sanjiv (2011), father of Zayana!
Pemanah and Mawar will be our ninth and tenth exports:
1.0 Mandau (1980) Exported 1982 - Asia
0.1 Musara (1980) Exported 1982 - Asia
0.1 Sinta (1983) Exported 1986 - North America
0.1 Usha (1985) Exported 1987 - North America
0.1 Kali (1985) Exported 1987 - North America
1.0 Tenang (2000) Exported 2002 - Europe
0.1 Isha (2006) Exported 2012 - Europe
0.1 Melati (2008) Exported 2012 - Europe
Not a huge number of exports, considering we’ve been breeding Sumatran tigers for 44 years.
The earliest we could expect a male cub from Ramah and Zayana is the second half of 2025, which is assuming their surviving (female) cub is separated from Zayana around 12-18 months. Due to her being the only cub, this could be seen as a detriment to her social development and so a birth interval of at least two years is more likely imo. Since females 10 years and older have historically struggled to conceive for the first time within the region, Taronga may now have to look at other options for Tengah.
Splitting up Ramah and Zayana after two litters (with Ramah going to Taronga) is certainly a possibility. I’d rather see them re-paired after producing a total of three or so offspring that will be used; rather than three litters totalling a larger number of cubs, half of which then sit around surplus for the next decade and a half.
I mean they could breed her to her uncle bashi. While yes its inbreeding. Its breeding back to a male that has no surviving offspring and is a wild founder. The offspring of that pairing would have application to virtually any mate in any breeding program globally. By the cubs having roughly 75% of there DNA from founder genes.
I can guarantee that won’t happen. Bashi is 15 years old and there’s no chance of exporting him to another country. Tengah Malam will likely be the nucleus of Taronga’s future breeding efforts; and in any case, Wellington don’t have the room to bring in a female without transferring Senja somewhere else.
It’s regrettable Bashi’s genes will be lost to the region. He would have been better off being paired to a founder female like Binjai while in his prime; or as a last ditch attempt to utilise him, I’d have considered paring him with Zayana for one litter before matching her with Ramah.
Sadly that will be the reality of it.
I wonder if they have ever done AI with Sumatran tigers. Now could be a warranted time ahah.
AI has been undertaken in tigers (both Sumatran and Siberian) across several US zoos. It unfortunately has a very low success rate. There’s a few theories as to why this is, one being ovulation in tigers is induced by the act of mating (with multiple mating attempts recorded over multiple days).
In most cases, semen collection takes place on site (it’s most frequently used when the male tiger is too aggressive to pair with a female). This avoids the logistics and time delays that would otherwise be associated with using Bashi’s semen to inseminate an Australian tigress.
Sad that it isnt more viable. I imagine if it was it would have a decent application.
Auckland Zoo’s tiger cub:
Three weeks on from the death of the male cub, we’re yet to hear any updates on the surviving female. It’s reasonable to assume no news is good news (the small tiger exhibit remains closed off) and I have also since come across some encouraging information…
While the phenomenon of a tigress ceasing to lactate when a single cub is produced (or the litter is rescued to a single cub) is well documented; apparently the survival of multiple cubs to at least a week of age is sufficient to stimulate the milk flow, irregardless of the fate of the cub’s siblings.
In short, the survival of the male cub to four weeks would have ensured Zayana’s ability to continue to lactate sufficiently for the female cub. With tiger cubs starting on solids between the ages of 6-8 weeks, there’s no reason to believe Zayana’ seven week old cub shouldn’t continue to thrive.
Three weeks on from the death of the male cub, we’re yet to hear any updates on the surviving female. It’s reasonable to assume no news is good news (the small tiger exhibit remains closed off) and I have also since come across some encouraging information…
While the phenomenon of a tigress ceasing to lactate when a single cub is produced (or the litter is rescued to a single cub) is well documented; apparently the survival of multiple cubs to at least a week of age is sufficient to stimulate the milk flow, irregardless of the fate of the cub’s siblings.
In short, the survival of the male cub to four weeks would have ensured Zayana’s ability to continue to lactate sufficiently for the female cub. With tiger cubs starting on solids between the ages of 6-8 weeks, there’s no reason to believe Zayana’ seven week old cub shouldn’t continue to thrive.
Auckland Zoo’s tiger cub:
Three weeks on from the death of the male cub, we’re yet to hear any updates on the surviving female. It’s reasonable to assume no news is good news (the small tiger exhibit remains closed off) and I have also since come across some encouraging information…
While the phenomenon of a tigress ceasing to lactate when a single cub is produced (or the litter is rescued to a single cub) is well documented; apparently the survival of multiple cubs to at least a week of age is sufficient to stimulate the milk flow, irregardless of the fate of the cub’s siblings.
In short, the survival of the male cub to four weeks would have ensured Zayana’s ability to continue to lactate sufficiently for the female cub. With tiger cubs starting on solids between the ages of 6-8 weeks, there’s no reason to believe Zayana’ seven week old cub shouldn’t continue to thrive.
I was at the zoo on the weekend and the cub was on display in the small habitat with the mother.