Hamerton Zoo welcomes male Malayan tiger to help protect critically endangered species

Cambridgeshire: Hamerton Zoo Park, near Huntingdon, has welcomed its newest arrival in the hope of helping protect an endangered species from extinction.

Bulan, a male Malayan tiger, has been moved to the zoo from a zoo in the Czech Republic. Zookeeper Charlotte Vaughan described the species as “critically endangered”.
“It’s a massive, massive milestone for us,” she said.

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, fewer than 150 Malayan tigers remain in the wild.

Zoo staff said Bulan has settled in quickly. Vaughan said he was “very curious and quite nosy” and was keen to take snacks from his keepers within hours of arriving.

He has already been introduced to the zoo’s female Malayan tiger, Sahaja, through a fence.
“Sahaja is still a bit wary of him… but it’s been really positive so far,” Vaughan said.

The zoo believes the pair are the only two Malayan tigers of breeding age in Europe. Any decisions about the tigers living together or about breeding programmes will be guided by their welfare, the zoo said.

Hamerton Zoo also has one other tiger in its collection, a white Bengal.

The park was previously home to a male Malayan tiger called Cicip, who mauled zookeeper Rosa King to death in 2017. An inquest found her death was accidental after she failed to notice Cicip’s enclosure was not secure.