Australasian Sumatran Tiger Population

Australasian Sumatran Tiger Population

Inspired by the recent work of @WhistlingKite24, I have created this thread for the purpose of documenting the Sumatran tigers held in the region. This serves the purpose of providing an instant overview of the regional population, without the need to trawl through the multiple pages of the Big/Small Cats of Australasian Zoos thread.

Long term, this will assist in the creation of a population index by @WhistlingKite24, which will in turn become an invaluable resource to all forum users.

Of the 44 Sumatran tigers in the Australasian region, 33 are direct descendants of the Nico-Meta line.

There have been seven litters born in the last eight years, five of these litters were born at Australia Zoo; while at least three zoos have stated they’re currently trying to breed - Adelaide Zoo, Wellington Zoo and the National Zoo. The females of these three breeding pairs are all daughters of Soraya (now deceased).

Any corrections/additional information welcomed:

Living Sumatran Tigers in Australasian Zoos (2021)

New Zealand

Hamilton Zoo:

0.1 Mencari (10/01/2000) Jambi x Cantic
0.1 Sali (10/04/2008) Hari x Setia
0.1 Kirana (16/11/2014) Oz x Sali

Wellington Zoo:

1.0 Bashi (04/12/2007) Imported 2008
0.1 Senja (21/08/2010) Lari x Soraya

Orana Wildlife Park:

1.0 Scout (08/02/2016) Juma x Kaitlyn
1.0 Reggie (31/03/2016) Satu x Maneki

Australia

Adelaide Zoo:

0.1 Rahni (31/03/2007) Raja x Soraya
1.0 Kembali (16/11/2014) Oz x Sali

Australia Zoo:

1.0 Juma (01/04/2004) Lari x Malu
1.0 Ranu (01/04/2004) Lari x Malu
0.1 Singha (01/04/2004) Lari x Malu
0.1 Kaitlyn (04/12/2007) Imported 2008
1.0 Hunter (22/08/2013) Ramalon x Kaitlyn
0.1 Delilah (08/02/2016) Juma x Kaitlyn
1.0 Nelson (03/06/2019) Ranu x Kaitlyn
1.0 Malcolm (18/02/2020) Ranu x Kaitlyn
0.1 Sallie (18/02/2020) Ranu x Kaitlyn
0.1 Sage (18/02/2020) Ranu x Kaitlyn

Ballarat Wildlife Park:

1.0 Satu (15/05/2005) Imported 2006

Darling Downs Zoo:

1.0 Jalur (12/06/2008) Oz x Molek
0.1 Rani (09/02/2010) Ramalon x Binjai

Dreamworld:

0.1 Jaya (09/06/2008) Raja x Soraya
0.1 Shanti (09/06/2008) Raja x Soraya

Melbourne Zoo:

0.1 Binjai (30/08/2002) Imported 2004
1.0 Hutan (09/02/2010) Ramalon x Binjai
0.1 Indrah (09/02/2010) Ramalon x Binjai

Mogo Zoo:

1.0 Mati (21/08/2010) Lari x Soraya
1.0 Indra (21/08/2010) Lari x Soraya

National Zoo:

0.1 Ndari (09/06/2008) Raja x Soraya
1.0 Aceh (09/02/2010) Ramalon x Binjai

Perth Zoo:

1.0 Jaya (20/08/2008) Hari x Setia

Sydney Zoo:

1.0 Raja (25/12/2003) Imported 2005

Taronga Zoo:

0.1 Jumilah (22/10/2003) Juara x Assiqua
1.0 Kembali (20/08/2011) Satu x Jumilah
0.1 Kartika (20/08/2011) Satu x Jumilah
1.0 Clarence (22/08/2013) Ramalon x Kaitlyn
1.0 Pemanah (17/01/2019) Clarence x Kartika
0.1 Mawar (17/01/2019) Clarence x Kartika
0.1 Tengah Malam (17/01/2019) Clarence x Kartika

Taronga Western Plains Zoo:

1.0 Satu (28/10/2006) Ramalon x Binjai
0.1 Indah (31/03/2007) Raja x Soraya
1.0 Sakti (20/08/2011) Satu x Jumilah

Tasmania Zoo:

0.1 Cinta (12/06/2008) Oz x Molek

Total regional population: 22.22

Note: Year of import into the region is given for all tigers imported from outside of Australasia; rather than parentage.

 

0.1 Rhani at Adelaide Zoo has been euthanised due to aggressive tumours found in her abdomen. She was born at Dreamworld in 2007 and moved to Adelaide in 2018. This leaves Adelaide with one tiger - male Kembali: Adelaide Zoo

 

That’s sad news - the obvious replacement is Shanti (2008) at Dreamworld, who is a full sister to Rhani (and 15 months younger).

Tbh I never understood why Adelaide tried to breed with Rhani. I emailed the National Zoo at the time and asked why her younger sister, Ndari, had replaced Rhani; and they said it was because introductions are lengthy and they felt they’d have more luck with a younger female. Rhani’s mate (Berani) had died just prior to when the zoo planned to introduce them (after 18 months build up); and was replaced by Aceh from Melbourne.

What is it with Soraya’s daughters not breeding? Rhani, Senja, Ndari...

 

Oldest Sumatran Tiger Dams (Australasia)

With the current focus being on breeding from older Sumatran tigresses, I thought it’d be interesting to compile a list of the oldest recorded dams in the region:

01. 13 years 6 months - Meta gave birth to 1.1 (23/11/1988)
02. 12 years 6 months - Poetry gave birth to 1.1 (27/11/1990)
03. 12 years 2 months - Kaitlyn gave birth to 1.2 (18/02/2020)
04. 12 years 2 months - Poetry gave birth to 0.0.1 (25/07/1990)*
05. 11 years 5 months - Kaitlyn gave birth to 1.0 (03/06/2019)
06. 10 years 5 months - Selatan gave birth to 0.0.2 (01/05/2001)
07. 10 years 4 months - Meta gave birth to 1.1.1 (06/09/1985)
08. 9 years 10 months - Meta gave birth to 0.0.2 (12/03/1985)
09. 8 years 7 months - Meta gave birth to 1.1.2 (02/12/1983)
10. 8 years 6 months - Molek gave birth to 2.1 (12/06/2008)*
11. 8 years 2 months - Soraya gave birth to 2.1 (21/08/2010)
12. 8 years 2 months - Kaitlyn gave birth to 1.1 (08/02/2016)

* = first litter

Husbandry guidelines for Sumatran tigers advise tigresses are fertile up to 15 years of age. It’s interesting to note that six of the seven births recorded to tigresses over the age of 10 were to tigresses that had bred before; and the one litter born to a first time dam over the age of 10 was stillborn.

While this data is at least partly circumstantial; It’s interesting to bear in mind when there have recently been a number of tigresses over the age of 10, that are failing to breed for the first time. In many mammal species, reproductive success in later life is partly influenced by whether the female has successfully reproduced in the past.

On a personal note, I find it interesting how similar Meta and Kaitlyn’s reproductive histories are. They’re both founders and they’re the only two tigresses in the region to have more than three litters (Meta had six; Kaitlyn has had four). Both are well represented in the above statistics - taking out seven places between them; and three of the top five.

 

Thanks for the evaluation and long list.

I do find the policy of breeding towards the latter life stage of tiger females somewhat tenuous.
It would be much better to have phased breeding at 4-5 years and perhaps another set of cubs later in life, would it not?

 

I agree!

 

I’m glad someone appreciated it.

And I couldn’t agree more. By doing this, they could slow the inter generational gaps by designating the first litter as non breeding/ambassador tigers; and breeding from the last litter.

I suspect Shiva and Selatan’s litter in 2001 was an attempt to implement this. Taronga Zoo decided to have a final attempt at breeding from ten year old Selatan, who had previously given birth to two litters at the age of four and five respectively. Following her death of the cubs in her 2001 litter, her three sons all sired cubs over the next five years.

 

0.1 Binjai at Melbourne Zoo has been euthanised due to age-related issues. This leaves Melbourne with 1.1 tigers (her offspring- Hutan and Indrah): Log into Facebook | Facebook

 

Sumatran tigers of the 1980’s and 1990’s (Taronga Zoo)

I came across some photos of Taronga’s Sumatran tigers from the 1980’s and early 1990’s - including the founders of the region (Nico and Meta); two of their offspring (Sinta and Usha); and Selatan, the tigress from Melbourne Zoo brought in as a mate for Nico and Meta’s son (Shiva). Copyright forbids me from posting these photos, but you can click on the link to view and buy them if you wish:

Nico: Nico" - This is Nico, the 5-years-old sumatran tiger who nipped off a... News Photo - Getty Images

Tiger Nico - At Heart Nico is a playful big cat. But when it comes to... News Photo - Getty Images

Meta: Two Sumatran Tiger Cubs, born last October at Taronga Zoo and now on... News Photo - Getty Images

Sinta: Sinta an 8 week old Sumatran Tiger was neglected by her mother and is... News Photo - Getty Images

Usha: Taronga Park Zoo, of sumatran tiger cub, Usha rejected by mother and... News Photo - Getty Images

Selatan: 1yr Old Seletan, a female Sumatran Tiger at Taronga Zoo. June 01,... News Photo - Getty Images

snow Leopard Mountain in 1990. The Sumatran tigers and Asiatic lions... News Photo - Getty Images

Additional notes/info:

It’s interesting to learn that Sinta was handraised. I already knew Usha was. There’s been a number of examples of captive Sumatran tigers rejecting the litter when it’s either consisted of a single cub or been reduced to a single cub. The mother’s milk often dries up, which is an evolutionary mechanism to prevent the mother investing two years of energy in raising a single cub. A similar mechanism occurs in Cheetah. Sinta and Usha were indeed the only survivors of their respective litters - quadruplets born in 1983 and 1985.

Sinta was sent to the San Diego Zoo in 1986, where she died shortly after she arrived. I’m guessing this was a failed introduction to the male, especially since Sinta was hand raised and would have had social deficiencies. Usha and Kali (another of Nico and Meta’s offspring) were sent as replacements in 1987. Kali has several descendants across North America.

Selatan (aged 18 months in the first photo) had a large ruff of fur, almost like a mane. Although it’s not unheard of for female Sumatran tigers to have ruffs, a feature more commonly seen in males, Selatan’s in the most prominent I’ve seen in a tigress. I suspect this may have been linked to a hormonal imbalance (which similarly causes lionesses to grow manes), which may have explained Selatan’s irregular cycles. Despite her difficulties in conceiving, she delivered twins in 1994 (one stillborn); triplets in 1995; and twins in 2001 (both non surviving).

 

Australasian Female Sumatran Tiger Population Demographics

Post Reproductive Age (15 years +):

0.1 Mencari (10/01/2000) Jambi x Cantic
0.1 Jumilah (22/10/2003) Juara x Assiqua - Bred 2011
0.1 Singha (01/04/2004) Lari x Malu

Late Reproductive Age (12-15 years):

0.1 Indah (31/03/2007) Raja x Soraya
0.1 Kaitlyn (04/12/2007) Imported 2008 - Bred 2013, 2016, 2019, 2020
0.1 Sali (10/04/2008) Hari x Setia - Bred 2014
0.1 Jaya (09/06/2008) Raja x Soraya
0.1 Shanti (09/06/2008) Raja x Soraya
0.1 Ndari (09/06/2008) Raja x Soraya
0.1 Cinta (12/06/2008) Oz x Molek

Prime Reproductive Age (3-12 years):

0.1 Indrah (09/02/2010) Ramalon x Binjai
0.1 Rani (09/02/2010) Ramalon x Binjai
0.1 Senja (21/08/2010) Lari x Soraya
0.1 Kartika (20/08/2011) Satu x Jumilah - Bred 2019
0.1 Kirana (16/11/2014) Oz x Sali
0.1 Delilah (08/02/2016) Juma x Kaitlyn

Pre Reproductive Age (0-3 years):

0.1 Mawar (17/01/2019) Clarence x Kartika
0.1 Tengah (17/01/2019) Clarence x Kartika
0.1 Sallie (18/02/2020) Ranu x Kaitlyn
0.1 Sage (18/02/2020) Ranu x Kaitlyn

Total: 20 tigers (green = breeding placement)

Discussion:

While husbandry guidelines advise post reproductive age for female Sumatran tigers is 15 years; in practice, fertility declines greatly from the age of 12 years. It is therefore generous to assume all seven of the tigers in the late reproductive age bracket are still reproductive, but we will do so nonetheless.

Either way, it’s clear that reproductively visible female tigers are a limited resource. Only six are of prime reproductive age and of these, four are over the age of 10; and only three of them are in breeding placements - one successful; one unsuccessful after several years; and one new/unproven pairing.

The pre-reproductive females (the cohort which will ensure succession of the population) number just four. This is almost a third of the number of female tigers in this cohort in 2011 (11 females).

The lack of females in the younger cohorts by no means indicates a population in crisis, but means imports/immigration will be needed to bolster numbers. In comparison, there was little need (or room) to supplement numbers with imports a decade ago; so rather, it should be viewed as a positive that fresh imports (new genetics) are now both required and possible.

 

I've recently been looking into the SSP population (United States) to see which candidates Auckland could potentially import prior to their new exhibit opening later this year. Note this is just speculation and a bit of guesswork based on age and genetics

Potential females:

Anala - Born at Disney's Animal Kingdom, Florida on 17th August 2017 to Malosi and Sohni. Has got some distant relation to the current Australian population through her father, Malosi. But is a very possible candidate due to her age

Kinleigh Rose - Born at Jacksonville Zoo, Florida on 19th November 2015 to Lucy (aka Dorcas) and Berani. Is the Great, Great Niece of Poetry (a former successful breeding female at Melbourne) but has no relation to Nico or Meta. More unlikely due to her age (almost Six) but has excellent Genetics otherwise and has yet to be paired with a male.

Cathy - Born at San Diego Zoo Safari Park, California on 28th January 2016 to Teddy and Joanne. More closely related to Nico/Meta and other former individuals in Australiasia than the other females, but still a likely candidate due to her age

Zayana - Born at Topeka Zoo, Kansas on 15th October 2018 to Jingga and Sanjiv. Is the Great, Great, Great Grandaughter of Nico and Meta but is distantly related enough for it not be a major issue.

In summary. I think that Zayana is the most likely female for them to import at the moment. She is young enough to produce litters with more than one male if needed. She is also unrelated to the current AZA population on her mother's side and distantly related on her fathers side to the point where inbreeding would not be a major issue.

I will do males in a separate post.

 

Potential males for Auckland to import from the USA:

Badar or Bintang - Born at Topeka Zoo, Kansas on 15th October 2018 to Jingga and Sanjiv. They are the Great, Great, Great Grandson's of Nico and Meta but is distantly related enough for it not be a major issue.

Satu - Born at Zoo Miami, Florida on 14th November 2015 to Leeloo and Berani. Distantly related to the current Australiasian population through his father, Berani.

Rakan - Born at Smithsonian Zoo, Washington on 11th July 2017 to Sparky and Damai. Currently housed at San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Has heavy but distant relation to the current Australian population on his mother's side. Still a potential candidate due to his age and his father's lack of representation within the AZA population

Kumar or Axl - Born at San Diego Zoo Safari Park on 14th September 2015 to Teddy and Joanne. Currently housed at Lincoln Children's Zoo. More closely related to Nico/Meta and other former individuals in Australiasia than some of the other males.

Ramah or Gusti - Born at Oklahoma City Zoo on 8th July 2017 to Lola and Kami. Distantly related to the current Australiasian population through there father, Kami (a sibling of Berani who sired Satu, mentioned earlier). But both very likely candidates due to there ages and heavy representation within the SSP population.

I would expect that the most likely mate for Zayana (from the list above) would currently be either Ramah or Gusti from Oklahoma. They are a similar age to Zayana and unrelated enough to potentially be an extremely valuable contribution to the AZA population if exported to New Zealand.

 

Great work @Nisha. I look forward to seeing if your assessment comes true, though either way you’ve identified some suitable candidates.

Finding tigers unrelated (or distantly related) to the Nico and Meta line is even more important than I first thought, as we have only 4.5 tigers in the region that don’t directly descend from them - and all except one are aged 13 years or older:

1.0 Raja (25/12/2003) Imported 2005
1.0 Satu (15/05/2005) Imported 2006
0.1 Indah (31/03/2007) Raja x Soraya
1.0 Bashi (04/12/2007) Imported 2008
0.1 Kaitlyn (04/12/2007) Imported 2008
0.1 Jaya (09/06/2008) Raja x Soraya
0.1 Shanti (09/06/2008) Raja x Soraya
0.1 Ndari (09/06/2008) Raja x Soraya
1.0 Reggie (31/03/2016) Satu x Maneki

I still feel the Indonesian imports have been under-utilised with Bashi never siring cubs and Maneki producing just a single male cub before her death.

 

New Male Tiger for Hamilton Zoo

As reported by @Matt_C in the Hamilton Zoo news thread, Hamilton Zoo are scheduled to receive a male tiger from Orana Wildlife Park. This transfer will take place after the passing of Hamilton Zoo’s elderly tigress, Mencari, which will free up one of the zoo’s two exhibits.

As part of the masterplan, Hamilton Zoo will be constructing a third Sumatran tiger exhibit in the next few years.

No further details have been announced, though the male tiger will almost certainly be Reggie, who is an extremely valuable male genetically; as opposed to the other male, Scout, who’s related to Hamilton’s females through the Nico/Meta line.

Hamilton Zoo:

0.1 Mencari (10/01/2000) Jambi x Cantic
0.1 Sali (10/04/2008) Hari x Setia
0.1 Kirana (16/11/2014) Oz x Sali

Orana Wildlife Park:

1.0 Scout (08/02/2016) Juma x Kaitlyn
1.0 Reggie (31/03/2016) Satu x Maneki

 

There appears to be very few litters born within the region in resent years!

 

There’s been eight litters born over the last 10 years. Although this is comparable to the 10 litters born in the previous decade, five of the litters in recent years have comprised of either a single cub or twins. There were also several imports from outside the region during the previous decade.

These were the cubs born between 2011 and 2021:

1.0 Kembali (20/08/2011) Satu x Jumilah
0.1 Kartika (20/08/2011) Satu x Jumilah
1.0 Sakti (20/08/2011) Satu x Jumilah

1.0 Clarence (22/08/2013) Ramalon x Kaitlyn
1.0 Hunter (22/08/2013) Ramalon x Kaitlyn

1.0 Kembali (16/11/2014) Oz x Sali
0.1 Kirana (16/11/2014) Oz x Sali

1.0 Scout (08/02/2016) Juma x Kaitlyn
0.1 Delilah (08/02/2016) Juma x Kaitlyn

1.0 Reggie (31/03/2016) Satu x Maneki

1.0 Pemanah (17/01/2019) Clarence x Kartika
0.1 Mawar (17/01/2019) Clarence x Kartika
0.1 Tengah Malam (17/01/2019) Clarence x Kartika

1.0 Nelson (03/06/2019) Ranu x Kaitlyn

1.0 Malcolm (18/02/2020) Ranu x Kaitlyn
0.1 Sallie (18/02/2020) Ranu x Kaitlyn
0.1 Sage (18/02/2020) Ranu x Kaitlyn

 

I found the 2019 SSP breeding and transfer plan and three tigers were recommended to be transferred into the Australasian region. Now there is a chance that these recommendations are out of date now but since COVID delayed a lot of things (especially overseas transfers) and Auckland is still planning to recieve a pair from overseas there is a good chance these 3 tigers will end up getting imported into this region.

• 0.1 Cathy was recommended to be transferred from SDZSP to Sydney Zoo
• Either 1.0 Ramah or 1.0 Gusti (the other is to be transferred to Honolulu) from Oklahoma City Zoo and 0.1 Zayana from Topeka are to be transferred to Auckland Zoo

 

Good sleuthing @Animals R AMAZING!

The dates of birth for these tigers are as follows:

0.1 Cathy (28/01/2016) Teddy x Joanne
1.0 Ramah (08/07/2017) Kami Sambol x Lola
1.0 Gusti (08/07/2017) Kami Sambol x Lola
0.1 Zayana (15/10/2018) Sanjiv x Jingga

I’m especially pleased Auckland Zoo will be receiving a young pair, which will maximise their reproductive potential. I was told by staff in July 2020 that the new pair would be coming from the USA and would assume these recommendations are likely to hold.

Sydney Zoo’s plans to import Cathy were a complete surprise. I suspect it may have been a consequence of Sydney Zoo looking further afield than Australasia for sourcing animals - like they did with elephants, chimpanzees, baboons etc. They don’t have a lot of space for breeding and it’d be unusual for a new holder to receive a breeding recommendation. They’ve since sourced an elderly male Sumatran tiger and a hybrid from Dreamworld, so probably won’t go ahead with this import now.

 

According to the most recent SSP Breeding and Transfer Plan, dating back just a few months, Cathy is no longer due to be exported to the Sydney Zoo. Gusti or Ramah and Zayana however, will still be exported to Auckland.

 

Could someone list all the offspring produced by Nico x Meta please?