Auckland Zoo to welcome a tiger in April, after three years without the big cats
Thursday, 7 April 2022
After three years without tigers, Auckland Zoo has announced one of the big cats will be arriving before the end of April.
In July 2019, the zoo announced it had made the decision to put down its last remaining Sumatran tiger, Berani, after efforts to treat him for health problems didn’t work.
Sali, a female tiger who has been living at Hamilton Zoo, will be moving into Auckland Zoo’s new South East Asia Jungle Track development.
A spokesperson for Auckland Zoo said the move was part of the zoo’s global breeding and advocacy programme for the critically endangered big cat.
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“Sali will become the first tiger to experience our new Lowlands tiger habitat which is due to open in Spring,” the spokesperson said.
Later in 2022, the zoo also hoped to welcome a young pair of Sumatran tigers from the United States who had been specifically selected to breed.
Carnivore team leader Lauren Booth said she and her teammates were “super excited” about the new tiger habitat.
“It’s an exceptional environment - complex and enriching, and one that will give these tigers the choice of many terrains, vantage points and water features, as well as offering our visitors incredible opportunities to connect with them,” she said.
“Sali’s arrival enables us to grow awareness and empathy for Sumatran tigers, which are a highly threatened and incredibly rare species.”
Booth said Auckland Zoo continued to help conserve tigers in the wild thanks to the support of zoo visitors.
When Sali arrives at Auckland Zoo she will undergo a brief observation period in the inside quarters of the tiger habitat, before being able to venture outside.
Auckland Zoo opened its first phase of the $60 million South East Asia Jungle Track development in July 2020.
Funded by Auckland Council's long-term plan, the high canopy habitat allows the zoo's three orangutans and two siamangs to climb 25-metre-high aerial pathways and move as they would in the wild.
The rest of the jungle track, which will be home to tigers and Asian small-clawed otters, features open-air bridges where the tigers can walk.
A swamp forest is also being constructed to house Asian crocodiles and other reptiles and fish.