One of the world's rarest tigers has taken up residence at Cork's Fota Wildlife Park
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Fota Wildlife Park in Cork has announced the arrival of one of the world’s rarest tigers as part of a breeding programme.
The two-year-old male tiger named Dao is a critically endangered Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris) and arrived this month from Zoo Krefeld in Germany as part of a European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) for Sumatran tigers.
Sumatran tigers are among the rarest species of tiger in the world and were classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2008, with fewer than 350 individuals estimated to remain in the wild.
Dao joins the ‘streak’ of tigers at Fota Wildlife Park which includes a 10-year-old male named Batak and a three-and-a-half-year-old female named Jambi.
Lead Ranger at Fota Wildlife Park Julien Fonteneau said Dao arrived at Fota Wildlife Park earlier in December and underwent a period of gradual introduction to his new habitat.
“We’re delighted to say that he is settling in really well. To preserve genetic diversity within the EEP breeding programme, tigers may be transferred to other zoological parks to pair with new mate,” he said.
Dao has been specifically selected to be paired with the resident female tiger, Jambi, who came from Heidelberg Zoo, Germany in February 2023.
“We hope they will both play a key part in global tiger conservation. The Sumatran tiger is being driven closer to extinction in the wild due to the destruction of its natural habitat, human-wildlife conflicts, and the deadly illegal trade fuelled by poaching.”
Mr Fonteneau explained that introducing a new tiger is “a highly specialised process that demands expert husbandry” and that eventually, Dao and Jambi will be gradually acclimatised to each other in preparation for the breeding programme.
“The last tiger birth at Fota Wildlife Park was the male Dash, born in the summer of 2019 so we are very excited about the prospect of future cubs,” he said.
Sumatran tigers are the smallest surviving species of tiger and are distinguished by heavy black stripes on their orange coats.
Kerinci Seblat National Park and the Ulu Masen-Leuser ecosystems are two of the last remaining wild habitats for the Sumatran tiger.
Known for having the narrowest stripe patterns among tigers, each Sumatran tiger can be individually identified by its unique stripe pattern, much like zebras. Sumatran tigers also have a white ‘beard’.