EAZA Tiger Campaign 2002/4
Campaign efforts in NaturZoo Rheine
How a small tiger raised a lot of moneyNaturZoo Rheine has kept Sumatran tigers since 1972 when two animals arrived from Frankfurt Zoo. This pair reproduced several times and raised cubs, the last one, Sumo, in 1984. Sumo was paired up with female Friederike who arrived in 1990 from Tierpark Berlin. Because of reproductive difficulties in the female, the pair never successfully reproduced. When Sumo died the EEP recommended to send Friederike to Zoo Doué la Fontaine to house her with an old male for exhibit purposes. NaturZoo Rheine then welcomed female Kim, born in June 2000 in Rotterdam Zoo and male Attjak, born in 1988 in Dortmund Zoo. Despite the male’s more advanced age he was the most suitable mate for Kim at that time. The tigers were very slowly introduced, and the introduction proceeded without problems.
All the events with and around the tigers are of great interest to zoo visitors and the local media. Our tigers have always been personalities and each change or event is closely observed by, and communicated to, the public. Tiger cubs were anxiously expected, and on 4 April 2003 Kim gave birth to a dead cub and an apparently healthy son. She rejected her son and EEP Coordinator Sarah Christie recommended hand-rearing, as there was a shortage of young Sumatran tigers at that time. Consequently keeper Sonja Hölscher and her Collie dog as well as colleague-keepers began the busy but rewarding task to care for ‘Dumai’, as the tiger baby was named. The news about Dumai’s birth rapidly spread, and the ‘Tiger-keeper-collie-trio’ appeared in an incredible number of newspapers and magazines and on TV and radio.
We had set a date for a ‘Tiger Day’, a day of special activities to raise money for ‘21st Century Tiger’, long before the young tiger was expected. The annual zoo programme of events had been printed and distributed before Kim had even conceived. Thus it was sheer coincidence that we could announce that Dumai would make his first ‘public appearance’ on Tiger Day, 4 May 2003.
Education department staff, keepers and volunteers had prepared a number of activities to inform visitors about tigers and tiger conservation to raise money for the campaign on Tiger Day. For example we had an educational ‘Tiger Wheel of Fortune’, with which visitors could bid on the hunting-luck of tigers. Face painting and tiger-mask-making was popular with children, and families could participate in a Tiger Quiz. Visitors could leave their name on a panel in life-size shape of a tiger for € 1. A sponsored, permanent exhibition on tiger conservation received great attention, and the zoo visitors generally had a very positive response to all these activities and presentations.
But nothing had been so much anticipated as the first look at Dumai. It was announced that his first public appearance would be in the early afternoon, by which time hundreds of visitors queued in front of the tiger-house, some waiting for up to half an hour to enter and see the four-week-old cub sleeping. Keepers informed the waiting visitors regarding everything they wanted to know about the tiger, and the visitors in return donated money for the campaign. By the evening we had counted 3,750 visitors and € 1,000 collected for 21st Century Tiger. Dumai had already become a true ambassador for his wild relatives.
Dumai continued 'acting' in this function: the interest in him persisted and we took advantage of this. We made foot prints of the young tiger and sold them with a ‘certificate of origin’ and the promise to transfer the money to conservation projects. The keeper prepared a very nice exhibition with pictures from the hand-rearing period and on Dumai’s development for our annual 'Zoo Day'. We were able to raise another € 500 and we will go on collecting money for the EAZA Tiger Campaign.
There is a good chance that we will have further success in doing so, as tigress Kim gave birth to another litter of twins on 11 August 2003 – but this delivery was not recommended by the EEP. This time however Kim is doing an excellent job raising her young. We believe that Dumai’s siblings will also be great ambassadors for their relatives in the wild. A big thanks to the staff of NaturZoo Rheine for working with dedication for the tigers and the Tiger Campaign, and to EEP Coordinator Sarah Christie for her valuable advice and prompt communication.
