ianmichaelthomas
Sumatran Tiger
Another photo from my archives - this is a first time mother Sumatran tiger, with triplets, sons Satu and Nakal, and female Sumatran cub called Isha, 8 months old, father is Ramalon, the mature male Sumatran tiger of Melbourne Zoo.
Looking back at my early photos, I can see that even here, Isha is a very feisty cub - a personality trait that she has really developed over the past 16 months!
Melbourne Zoo has a wonderful enclosure for the tigers - it is styled very much as Sumatran rainforest, with lots of trees, and even a pond to swim and play in.
Melb Zoo staff are taking part in a proper preservation program for Sumatran wildlife - not just joining an international captive breeding program (although they do, and that is vital given the parlous state of Sumatran tigers in the wild) - they actively buy back land in Sumatra with the intent to rehabilitate the land as a wildlife preserve, to give animals such as the tiger and the Sumatran Orang-utan a chance to flourish again.
Isha and Satu, our twin Sumatran tigers, turned 2 yo on October 28, 2008
Its amazing to see how much they have grown in 16 months. Isha, the female is now as big as their mother, Binjai, at about 85 Kg. Satu, the male is already bigger and he will eventually reach 115 - 125Kg, like their father, Ramalon.
Sumatran tigers are the smallest sub-species of the remaining tiger species. It is unfortunately the most endangered as well, with as little as 200 left in Sumatra.
Royal Melbourne Zoo, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
Sumatran Tiger
Another photo from my archives - this is a first time mother Sumatran tiger, with triplets, sons Satu and Nakal, and female Sumatran cub called Isha, 8 months old, father is Ramalon, the mature male Sumatran tiger of Melbourne Zoo.
Looking back at my early photos, I can see that even here, Isha is a very feisty cub - a personality trait that she has really developed over the past 16 months!
Melbourne Zoo has a wonderful enclosure for the tigers - it is styled very much as Sumatran rainforest, with lots of trees, and even a pond to swim and play in.
Melb Zoo staff are taking part in a proper preservation program for Sumatran wildlife - not just joining an international captive breeding program (although they do, and that is vital given the parlous state of Sumatran tigers in the wild) - they actively buy back land in Sumatra with the intent to rehabilitate the land as a wildlife preserve, to give animals such as the tiger and the Sumatran Orang-utan a chance to flourish again.
Isha and Satu, our twin Sumatran tigers, turned 2 yo on October 28, 2008
Its amazing to see how much they have grown in 16 months. Isha, the female is now as big as their mother, Binjai, at about 85 Kg. Satu, the male is already bigger and he will eventually reach 115 - 125Kg, like their father, Ramalon.
Sumatran tigers are the smallest sub-species of the remaining tiger species. It is unfortunately the most endangered as well, with as little as 200 left in Sumatra.
Royal Melbourne Zoo, Parkville, Victoria, Australia