LR zoo breeds big cat romance

Tiger habitat fix on board agenda

— Quiet, laid back male, about 250 pounds and 8 feet long from nose to tail seeking female ready to start a family.

The keepers and curators at the Little Rock Zoo jokingly say the process for finding a suitable mate for Liku, an almost 9-year-old male Malayan tiger, was like using a dating service. They entered his weight, his personality characteristics, his genetic markers and history, and hoped somewhere close by there would be a love match.

Suhana, a 4-year-old Malayan tiger from the Baton Rouge Zoo, has turned out to be a pretty good fit. And zoo staff members are on their way to creating the perfect environment for the felines to try to start a family.

The Little Rock Board of Directors will start discussions today to allocate about $228,000 from the citywide sales tax enacted in January to help renovate the zoo’s tiger enclosure.

The enclosure was built in 1982 and could use some updating, including fixing erosion in the varied terrain inside the 15,000-square-foot habitat.

The plan to renovate was included in the zoo staff ’s original funding request before the sales tax went to voters in September 2011. The Board of Directors will vote on Dec. 3.

“More than looks or updating the enclosure, the major reason for renovating is to ready the facility for the two tigers to mate,” zoo spokesman Susan Altrui said.

If approved, the renovations will begin in January and last a few months. Staff are waiting until after construction to fully introduce the two animals.

The renovations will include a heavy fence with a wide entrance that can be sealed off, dividing the enclosure into two.

“We have been approved as part of the species survival plan to breed our tigers,” she said. “We’ll divide the enclosure because unlike other large cats, tigers in general are solitary animals other than mating or caring for their young. So we’ll make a second enclosure and make a more shallow water feature for the cubs to use if the mating is successful.”

When a female tiger gives birth, she becomes protective of her cubs, while male tigers can become aggressive and injure or kill those cubs, said Debbie Thompson, the Little Rock Zoo’s carnivore curator.

She said the first few weeks will be critical in terms of privacy because the cubs are born very small, fragile and unable to see - much like how house cats are born.

Suhana came to the Little Rock Zoo in May. Liku’s brother, Intan, had also been living at the Little Rock Zoo and was found to be a match for Suhana’s sister, Nazira.

So the two zoos arranged for a swap to make what staff at both facilities hope will be happy matches.

Sam Winslow, general curator of the Baton Rouge Zoo, said that facility has visually introduced their tigers, and the plan is to monitor her heat cycle and allow them to mate this spring.

In Little Rock, Thompson said so far, Suhana and Liku seem to be getting along, even though they’ve never officially met, kind of like long-distance dating.

“They both spend about half the day smelling where the other has been around the enclosure and re-marking their territory,” she said.

“Right now they’re in what we call the howdy stage. They’re never out at the same time. At this point, they’ve never seen each other fully, but they smell each other and they also call out to each other and answer from their indoor enclosures. We’ve actually caught both of them peeking through the cracks in the door between their areas. They’re very interested in each other.”

Thompson said staff members have also seen Liku engaging in what keepers call flehmening. The cat will curl his lips and nose and stick out his tongue in what looks like a grimace in order to better smell the pheromones in the markings left by Suhana.

“It’s really part of his rounds in the enclosure, but it’s a good thing,” she said. “He drools, and he definitely likes the smell.”

Thompson said the survival plan has several facets, but in general it calls for 10 tiger couples to try breeding in hopes that a large percentage will be successful, but anticipating that not all will be able to successfully mate.

“Tiger mating can be a dangerous business,” Thompson said. “We’ve seen good signs, but they’re still very large and can be very aggressive and unpredictable animals. So we will have the fire hoses in place and be ready to separate them as soon as possible if any sign of trouble arises.”

The species survival plan calls for the zoos to take care of cubs for two to three years after they’re born before placing them at accredited zoos.The hope is that no more tigers will be taken from the wild and that the mating plan will ensure the species’ survival 100 years into the future by not over breeding any of the tigers.

Thompson said these particular cats are genetically valuable because they have not been bred before. She also said Malayan tigers are a little different than the species most people in colder climates might recognize, which are commonly known as Siberian tigers and have much thicker coats.

“Liku is one of our favorite animals in the zoo. We joke around about how he’s my cat, no he’s my cat,” Thompson laughed.

“He’s just so laid back. He was uptight at first, and that’s why we have such high hopes for Suhana. Now, Liku will just lay his head on the door sill of the enclosure and just watch what staff is doing around him without even really reacting, just watching.”

The tiger enclosure makes up about half of the overall funding request for animal habitat updates through the sales tax. Other construction from the total $411,000 request will include updates to the otter and bear enclosures.

The zoo also asked for funding to hire new positions or fill vacancies with a total of 17 new hires this year. Other requests were made to add exhibits, including one for hippopotamus, a farm enclosure, an Australian outback enclosure and nocturnal animals. Officials would also like to update the train system around the zoo and increase the education and outreach programs.

In the past few years, the zoo has added a penguin exhibit and a cheetah exhibit, and recently announced the birth of a baby gorilla and the zoo’s first baby penguin.

Arkansas, Pages 7 on 11/27/2012

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