Dublin Zoo announces names of endangered Sumatran Tiger cubs
15/10/2009 – 12:31:15
Two Sumatran Tiger cubs born at Dublin Zoo in May took centre stage again today after a nationwide competition found names for them concluded.
Keepers sifted through hundreds of entries before selecting “Emas”, meaning “Gold” in Indonesian for the male cub and “Wanita” meaning “Woman” for the female.
The naming competition, which was run in association with BTKids in Dublin, Cork and Limerick, was won by Sarah McCormack, Emmet McGlone, Gregory Friston, Martha McNulty. Two people picked the same name for each so the Zoo chose the four of them to win.
A critically endangered species, fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers survive in the wild so these animals are extremely important not just to the zoo but to the global breeding programme also.
“Emas is a typical male,” said Gerry Creighton from Dublin Zoo. “He’s boisterous and playful and loves to explore. We’ve got to know his manner now and we all agreed that ‘Gold’ is perfect for him.”
“We also love the name ‘Wanita’ for our female cub, it really suits her down to the ground. While Emas is a very strong male character, Wanita displays truly typical female traits. She has a really sweet nature, and is far more relaxed then her brother. She is really close to her mother and has shown classic feminine characteristics from the start.”
The cubs were born on May 29. At birth Emas weighed in at 1 kg and Wanita at .85 kg, and now, almost five months on, the pair are thriving, weighing in at 22kgs and 17kilos respectively.
Both cubs are still suckling from their mother but are also being introduced to solids including chicken, pork and rabbit.
The newly named pair, Emas and Wanita, can be seen at Dublin Zoo alongside their parents.
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