Utah's Hogle Zoo is adding an all-Utah species exhibit to the east side of the zoo. The project begins Wednesday. (Photo credit: Hogle Zoo)
SALT LAKE CITY — A new Amur tiger, Sasha, has arrived at Utah’s Hogle Zoo from Kansas.
“[Sasha] is settling in her new habitat and continues to acclimate well,” Associate Director of Animal Care, Bob Cisneros said.
When Sasha matures, the zoo will likely breed her with Nikolai, an 11-year-old male Amur tiger. Nikolai resides in the habitat next to Sasha’s. The zoo will work with the Species Survival Program and follow breeding recommendations to encourage healthy, hereditary variations of populations in officially recognized and authorized zoos.
New resident Sasha can be found at the Asian Highland exhibit, which Hogle Zoo designed to be like the animals’ natural surroundings. She takes the place of Cila, another tiger at Hogle Zoo, who died earlier this fall.
The Amur tiger is an endangered species with about 500 animals still in the wild. Poaching and deforestation pose the biggest threats to the species’ survival. Amur tigers live in the wild in East Russia, China, and North Korea. A larger cat, Amurs can grow as large as 240-290 pounds for a female and up to 450 for a male, peaking near 4 years old. Their gestation period is 3-3.5 months with two to four cubs per litter. The Amur tiger can live 10 to 15 years in the wild, or up to 20 years old with care from humans.