Auckland Zoo is at the centre of conservation efforts for the critically endangered animals. Video / Jason Oxenham
They sit on top of the food chain and are top on the must-see list for many zoo visitors. Tigers are extremely rare to spot in the wild, but Auckland Zoo boasts three of them among its residents.
Seven-year-old Sumatran tiger Ramah rips into his breakfast of a leg of venison. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Sumatran tigers Ramah, now 7 years old, and Zayana, 5, came here from the United States in November 2022 as part of an international breeding and conservation advocacy programme for this critically endangered big cat.
And it didn’t take them long to get with the programme as the zoo announced Zayana’s pregnancy in May 2023. Cahya was born in January this year.
Keeper Emma Dickey said the zoo is part of a global push to breed sustainable populations in accredited zoos around the world.
“Sumatran tigers are a critically endangered species,” Dickey told the Herald. “Their populations have declined drastically in the last few years and they’re under a lot of pressure and threat, mostly from human activity.
“For us, it’s really important to draw people in and learn about these guys because they are such a unique and interesting species.”
Auckland Zoo carnivore team keeper Emma Dickey working with Cahya, 6 months, and mum Zayana. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Monday is International Tiger Day, a global celebration of this animal aimed at raising awareness of the threats to their existence and the ongoing efforts for their conservation.
The international Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the Sumatran tiger as “critically endangered” on its Red List of Threatened Species.
With as few as 400-500 individuals in the wild, the IUCN assessors say the breeding of Sumatran tigers outside of the wild, i.e. in accredited zoos such as Auckland, is key to the animals’ survival.
Emma Dickey is training the tigers to come to the window. The tigers can be observed and treated, if needs be, and visitors get an up close and personal experience. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Humans are the biggest threat to the felines through illegal poaching and trading in live animals, trophies and unproven medicines, and through loss of habitat from increasing human expansion into wild areas with illegal logging or deforestation for cash crops.
Auckland Zoo’s conservation efforts are not limited to the breeding programme, however.
The zoo diverts part of its revenues to supporting Kerinci Seblat National Park, the largest protected national park on Sumatra at 1.8 million ha.
With an estimated 166 tigers, conservation activities include Tiger Protection Units (TPUs) patrolling the forest removing snares and working with authorities on wildlife crime investigations.
Rangers move a tiger to avoid conflict with humans in West Sumatra. Photo / Getty Images
Efforts, including a fatwah in Muslim Indonesia, have resulted in ex-hunters handing over their tools and switching sides to become conservation allies with daily stipends and programmes to create alternative livelihoods.
And the zoo can also claim the establishment of the Sumatra Ranger Project, through the work of deputy curator of animals Amy Robbins, which has, since 2016, put rangers on the ground patrolling just outside the protected Gunung Leuser National Park in North Sumatra.
Caring for tigers in captivity is a full-on job and comes with great responsibility. Their habitat and diet are carefully controlled, and the animals are routinely checked. Dickey is training Cahya at a special viewing window with access ports when the Herald visited.
The tigers associate the window and the ports with treats, making it easier to work with them. Photo / Jason Oxenham
She said the aim is to build up a positive relationship with the keepers and an association with the window to know they will get a treat.
“It’s still very much at the beginning, the early stages of this behaviour for Cahya,” Dickey said. “But what we’re wanting to do is build up her confidence to then start to do it throughout the day when we’ve got visitors around to give them the opportunity to see these girls up close and personal and begin to really understand the intricacies of tigers and how they work and why they’re so unique and what’s so cool about them.”
While the tigers move up and around the window and ports, keepers can assess the animals for any signs that all might not be well.
Cahya is growing steadily and is already nearly 30kg, exactly where she should be for a 6-month-old Sumatran tiger. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Everything seems to be going okay, so far.
“Cahya weighs in at 29.6 kilos which is tracking in completely the right direction for what a tiger cub should be doing,” she said.
“It’s really exciting to watch her grow from a keeper’s perspective but it’s also super exciting to see the joy she brings to all of our visitors to the zoo.”
Auckland Zoo launched a live auction on Trade Me yesterday offering the winner and a friend a “keeper for the day” experience with the Sumatran tigers Ramah, Zayana and Cahya. Duties will include feeding and assisting with tiger training and an opportunity to get a flavour of what it takes to care for these big cats and the conservation efforts in train overseas. All money raised from the auction will go towards big cat conservation.
