Meet our majestic tigers!
Adelaide Zoo is home to three incredible Sumatran Tigers.
Assiqua is our eldest tiger. Born on 18 May 1999 at Les Felins d’Auneau, France, this special girl arrived at Adelaide Zoo in December 2007. Assiqua is a typical female cat; headstrong, independent and rarely seeks attention from zoo keepers. Her strikingly beautiful features include the tips of her ears that curl inwards. She prefers to relax and eat in the camouflage of the bamboo so visitors will have to look closely to spot her. Her favourite treat is rabbit or chicken and she loves herbs as enrichment, especially lavender and rosemary.
Another tiger calling Adelaide Zoo home is beautiful female Rhani. Rhani is more shy than Assiqua but has developed great relationships with her keepers since her arrival in 2018 and can be very playful with them. Born in 2017 at Dreamworld in Queensland, this gorgeous girl enjoys all types of food and loves nothing more than relaxing under her water misters on a hot day.
Our only male, and by far the largest Sumatran Tiger we care for, is the handsome Kembali, who weighs in at a whopping 130kg! Kembali was born at Hamilton Zoo in New Zealand on 16 November, 2014 and has called Adelaide Zoo home since mid-2018. This big boy absolutely loves his food and isn’t scared to chomp through bones and finish every last bite.
It is hoped that Rhani and Kembali will together contribute to the international breeding program for their species, with keepers already observing positive behaviours between the pair. We’re crossing our fingers for the pitter patter of little tiger paws in the future!
Tigers are the largest living cats in the world, with the Sumatran Tiger being the smallest of the six tiger subspecies. Sumatran Tigers inhabit the tropical rainforests on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia.
The pattern of tigers’ stripes is unique to each animal, just like fingerprints are to humans. The stripe pattern is found on a tiger’s skin and, if shaved, its distinctive pattern would remain. Sumatran Tigers also have webbing between their toes, which makes them good swimmers. Tigers make many sounds, including roaring, chuffing, growling and mewing.
One hundred years ago it is estimated that there were 100,000 wild tigers – today the number is thought to be as few as 3,200 individuals. The Sumatran Tiger is the last surviving subspecies of tiger in Indonesia; the Balinese Tiger became extinct in the 1940s and the Javanese Tiger in the early 1980s. Current estimates indicate there is around 300-500 wild Sumatran Tigers with a rapidly decreasing trend due to habitat destruction for palm oil plantations and poaching for the illegal wildlife trade.
Love Sumatran Tigers? Join our pride and ensure tigers stay a pounce ahead of extinction! There are many ways you can help support these amazing animals!
