A pair of rare tigers at West Midland Safari Park have the enormous task of trying to save their species.
The two Sumatran tigers are members of a rare and endangered species, and staff at the park are hoping they will breed.It is thought there are no more than 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild today, which means there is a real possibility of them facing extinction by the end of the decade.
The five-year-old female of the pair arrived at the park earlier in the year from Holland. She was originally from Indonesia and is called Hujan, meaning rain, because there were torrential storms on the day she was born.
The two-year-old male tiger Emas, which means golden in Indonesia, also arrived at the park in the summer. He was previously living in Dublin.The plan for the tigers, who can be seen at the park’s four-mile, 160-acre drive-through safari, is that they will eventually mate and also draw attention to the plight of their species.
West Midland Safari Park director of wildlife, Bob Lawrence, said “Whilst we all prefer to know that the Sumatran tiger still exists in their natural environment where they rightly belong, captive specimens are a vital safeguard in ensuring their continuing existence.
“They act as ambassadors for their kind in raising general awareness of their plight, by helping to maintain the essential political pressure required to protect their native habitats. West Midland Safari Park is delighted to become part of the international effort by zoos to save the Sumatran tiger.”