NORFOLK, Va. – A new pair of Malayan tigers will take up residence at the Virginia Zoo in the next few weeks.
Christopher, a year-old male Malayan tiger, will come from the Bronx Zoo in New York and Clairborne, a two-year-old female, will come from the San Diego Zoo.
“Christopher and Clairborne will help us establish a successful long-term tiger breeding program at the Virginia Zoo,” said Greg Bockheim, the Zoo’s executive director. “Malayan tigers are endangered and we look forward to helping maintain a stable breeding population in North American zoos, and learning more about their behavior and how we might help their conservation worldwide.”
Kadar and Tahan, the Virginia Zoo’s current resident tigers, will move to the Naples Zoo, in Naples, Fla., to make room for Christopher and Clairborne.
“Kadar and Tahan will be missed, but the Virginia Zoo’s tiger facility was designed with breeding in mind, and we really need to take advantage of breeding capabilities whenever we can with threatened species like the Malayan tiger,” Bockheim noted. “Contributing to the long-term survival of threatened species is one of the Zoo’s core missions.”
