Press Release Archive
Jan 3 2006 - Male Sumatran Tiger To Debut At Phoenix Zoo
| Contact: | Aimee Yamamori Director of Media and Public Relations (602) 914-4305, or pager (602) 223-8222 |
| Date: | January 3, 2006 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: | |
MALE SUMATRAN TIGER TO DEBUT AT PHOENIX ZOO
"Jai, " (pronounced "Jay") a male Sumatran tiger, will make his public debut on the weekend of January 7-8, 2006. Jai comes to Phoenix from the Louisville Zoo in Kentucky and is a year and a half old.
The tiger's debut will be celebrated with a variety of activities around the tiger exhibit. Planned activities throughout the weekend include:
- radio tracking demonstrations
- tiger mask making
- tiger spotting
- tiger trivia
- keeper talks at 1pm on Saturday and Sunday
- invention station
- face painting
Jai came to Phoenix based on a recommendation from the American Zoo and Aquarium's Species Survival Plan for Sumatran tigers. He represents a valuable bloodline and may be bred to another tiger in the future. Our current female has offspring residing in several zoos across the U.S. but is now too old to breed.
The Sumatran tiger is a critically endangered species found only in the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Its habitats range from mountainous to forest areas. The World Wildlife Fund estimates that there are no more than 500 of these tigers left in the wild. The tiger's numbers have been on a continual decrease due to loss of habitat and over- hunting. Only 55 zoos in United States house Sumatran tigers.
While Sumatran tigers are the smallest of the tiger subspecies, male tigers can reach up to 8 feet in length and will weigh up to 265 pounds. The tiger's small size helps it move easily through jungle habitat, and they also have webbed feet for swimming. All tigers have a unique pattern of stripes; like fingerprints. The tiger also has white eye-like markings on their ears which may be visual clues for tigers to identify each other. In the wild, tigers will hunt almost anything for a meal, including wild pigs and deer. Most tigers will live 15-20 years in the wild and about 26 years in captive environments.
Jai can been seen daily on exhibit throughout the weekend of January 7-8. Once he is comfortable on exhibit, he will rotate time with the Zoo's female Sumatran tiger.
The Zoo will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily through January 8. Beginning January 9, the Zoo will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information, call the Zoo at 602-273-1341 or visit online at www.phoenixzoo.org.
