Honolulu Zoo gets a new striped resident

A new Sumatran tiger has taken up residence at the Honolulu Zoo, arriving Thursday from Louisiana’s Baton Rouge Zoo.

The 15-year-old male tiger is named Seattle and weighs approximately 220 pounds, according to a news release. The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List has the Sumatran tiger listed as critically endangered, with a population of no more than 400 animals remaining.

“We were very fortunate that the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan identified a genetically suitable pair of tigers for the Honolulu Zoo to breed, and we’re beyond thrilled about the arrival of a male tiger,” said Honolulu Zoo Director Linda Santos in the release. “We are currently working with another zoo to provide us with his mate.”

The Sumatran tiger is one of the smallest tiger species. Poaching is one of the main threats to their survival, the release said, and the expansion of oil palm and acacia plantations has taken over their much of their natural habitat.

Seattle will be housed in the tiger exhibit near the play apparatus at the zoo. The last male tiger at the Honolulu Zoo, Berani, died in 2017 and had three cubs with Chrissy, the zoo’s female tiger, who will turn 23 on June 24.