Two critically endangered Indochinese tigers are acclimating well to their new surroundings and each other after debuting yesterday (May 12, 2004) at the San Diego Zoo's Tiger River.

A 3-year-old male tiger named Awang Relak and a 4-year-old female tiger named Mek Degong, explored their new home with caution and curiosity under the watchful eye of keepers. Prior to their public debut, the tigers underwent a 30-day quarantine at the Zoo's hospital. Awang and Mek are scheduled to be on exhibit daily from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Tiger River.

"The transition into the new exhibit went smoothly," said Janice Owlett, team area lead, at the Zoo's Tiger River exhibit. "The male tiger came right out to investigate the landscape, while the female tiger hesitated at first but then began to explore and play in the exhibit's 37,000-gallon pool."

The new pair joins the Zoo in conjunction with a cooperative program involving the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha and the Wildlife Conservation Society (Bronx Zoo) for the Indochinese Tiger Species Survival Plan (SSP). These tigers along with a pair at the Henry Doorly Zoo and Bronx Zoo, will serve as potential breeding pairs in an effort to substantially increase the genetic diversity and enhance the long-term viability of Indochinese tigers in North America. In addition to restoring a captive breeding program, all three zoological facilities will support field conservation activities for an anti-poaching program in Malaysia.

Through SSP, each facility received a pair a tigers after the animals were removed from the wild by Malaysian authorities because they posed a significant risk to humans and their livestock. The tigers were then housed at the Melaka Zoo in Malaysia, but due to the large number of such animals, the Melaka Zoo faced limited space in housing them for a long period of time.

There are only an estimated 1,200 Indochinese tigers left in the wild and about 60 live in zoological facilities in Asia and the United States.

The 100-acre San Diego Zoo is operated by the not-for-profit Zoological Society of San Diego. The Zoological Society, dedicated to the conservation of endangered species and their habitats, engages in conservation and research work around the globe. The Zoological Society also manages the 1,800-acre San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park (more than half of which has been set aside as protected native species habitat) and the Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species (CRES), and is working to establish field stations in five key ecological areas world-wide.

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Media Contact: Paul Garcia +1 619-685-3291 pgarcia@sandiegozoo.org