Frankfurt / Main (dpa / lhe) – New addition to the cat jungle of the Frankfurt Zoo: After a short stay in the quarantine station, Sumatran tiger “Emas”, who previously lived in the Rotterdam Zoo, was able to move into its new home, as a zoo spokeswoman reported on Thursday. Here he now lives in the enclosure next to the tigress “Cinta”, who herself has only been living in Frankfurt since October. So far, neither “Emas”, born in 2009, nor the eight-year-old “Cinta” have had offspring. Zoo director Christina Geiger hopes that the tomcat, described as calm and sociable, and the tigress will get closer in the future.
“We hope that he can lure the somewhat shy Tigress out of her reserve,” she said. “Tigers are solitary animals and usually only come together during the mating season, but the proximity of a conspecific can still have a positive effect. Our two tigers are already older animals. But since they have never reproduced, their offspring would be genetically extremely valuable for the zoo population.”
So far, the two animals have only had visual contact, but a “cuddling grid” is possible for closer contact, which allows them to rub their heads together. If the tigers get along well, they should come together “in due course”. “If they like each other, there is hope for offspring,” says Geiger.
That would be all the more significant as Sumatran tigers are extremely rare. Estimates by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) assume that around 400 animals still live in their ancestral homeland. Above all, poaching and large-scale deforestation and the loss of natural prey are putting pressure on the remaining population.
