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The Honolulu Zoo welcomes new male Sumatran tiger

WAIKĪKĪ – The City and County of Honolulu is pleased to announce the arrival of Satu, an eight-year-old male Sumatran tiger who was transported to the Honolulu Zoo on Friday evening. Satu was born in Miami, Florida and arrives in Honolulu having previously lived at the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco, Texas.

“We are very fortunate that the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan was able to identify Satu as a genetically suitable match for Anala, our female tiger, as getting the right fit is always a challenge,” said Linda Santos, the director of the Honolulu Zoo. “We are all very thrilled to welcome Satu and hope that he and Anala will become a compatible pair.”

The Honolulu Police Department (HPD) assisted Honolulu Zoo staff in transporting Satu from the Daniel K. Inouye Honolulu International Airport to the Honolulu Zoo in Waikīkī.

“It is always great to have HPD’s solo bike escort team assist with our animal transports, and they have helped us to safely and successfully transport many of our new zoo animals in the past,” said Santos. “We are very appreciative of HPD’s support, and we are especially grateful to Cameron Park Zoo’s staff for accompanying Satu on his long transport.”

Satu weighs 229 pounds, loves training and enjoys enrichment activities, especially toys. He is required by Hawaiʻi law to quarantine for four months and will remain in a separate habitat adjacent to Anala’s during this period. Satu and Anala can both be seen daily in their habitats near the Honolulu Zoo’s Kapahulu Market concession, with Satu in the habitat closest to the children’s playground.

The Sumatran tiger is one of the smallest species of tigers in the world and is the only surviving tiger population in the Sunda Islands, where the Bali and Javan tigers have gone extinct. They are noted for their heavy black stripes on their orange coat and are generally shy and tend to avoid people in the wild. Poaching is one of their main threats to survival, and the expansion of oil palm and acacia plantations have taken over much of their natural habitat.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List has the Sumatran tiger listed as critically endangered, with no more than 400 individuals believed to be remaining in its total population.
The Honolulu Zoo’s Aloha ‘Aina Conservation Fund has provided longtime support for conservation efforts of Sumatran tigers in the wild through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan Tiger Conservation Campaign.
—PAU—

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