Hana and Hani are the Greater Vancouver Zoo’s newest addition to their cat family.
Hana and Hani are Siberian tigers, also known as Amur tigers. The sisters were born on May 22, 2011 and now weigh in at approximately 180 lbs. and 130 lbs., respectively.
This is the Greater Vancouver Zoo’s first animal exchange between their sister zoo, Seoul Grand Park Zoo in South Korea, a partnership that was formed in November 2010, according to zoo spokesperson Jody Henderson.
"Our hope for the sisters is that they can become part of the Species Survival Plan (SSP) program, which works to cooperatively manage specific, and typically threatened or endangered, species population," said Henderson.
Typically these animals are solitary animals unless they are family related or mating.
Siberian tigers are listed as endangered, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Originally there were nine tiger subspecies and now we are down to six subspecies, which all are categorized as endangered.
The tiger range has appeared to be declining by over 50 per cent over the last three generations and the tiger population also suggests a decline by at least 50 per cent over a similar period. There used to be hundreds of thousands of the different species of tigers, whereas now there are probably 3,000 to 5,000 in the world. In some areas the causes of population reduction may not be reversible.
Tigers are at the top of the food chain and are not a main concern as prey but, unfortunately, are in high demand in markets. They are hunted for trophies, and different body parts of the tigers are used in traditional Chinese medicines.
To learn more visit: www.gvzoo.com