Endangered Sumatran tiger killed in fight at the London Zoo

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An endangered Sumatran tiger brought to the London Zoo less than two weeks ago from a Danish safari park killed another rare tiger in a fight when introduced to each other and had been thought to have been the “perfect mate.” The female tiger, Melati, a long term resident at the zoo, died in a fight.

According to the BBC News, the tigers had spent time separated in nearby enclosures in order to get used to each other and had been introduced to each other earlier. Tensions however “quickly escalated” and became “more aggressive” when Melati died during a fight. The tigers were instantly separated, but despite veterinarians best efforts, the ten-year-old tiger succumbed from her injuries.

“Our focus right now is on caring for Asim, as we get through this difficult event,” the zoo posted on their site.

The seven-year-old male, Asim had been moved to the zoo as part of a conservation project. The zoo described him as being very affectionate “with the ladies in his life” and had been hoping Melati would mate with him. Melati’s previous mate, Jae Jae, who sired several cubs, was transferred to a French zoo.

Although zoo officials stated there was careful monitoring of the two tigers, introductions are always considered “to be high risk.”

There are only 300 Sumatran tigers left in the world.

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3 COMMENTS

  1. Why would the zoo swap mates on the poor cat???? Now she has paid the price of humans screwing with a situation that was working fine. Nice work, zoo.

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