The Fresno Chaffee Zoo officially has a new resident — Batari, an 8-year-old female Malayan tiger. Batari comes to Fresno in September from the Tulsa Zoo in Oklahoma. Photo by Fresno Chaffee Zoo
The Fresno Chaffee Zoo officially has a new resident — Batari, an 8-year-old female Malayan tiger. Batari came to Fresno in September from the Tulsa Zoo in Oklahoma.
She is a part of the zoo’s Kingdoms of Asia exhibit, where visitors can now see her exploring her new habitat.
Batari joins the zoo as a companion of Penari, the male Malayan tiger. Due to tigers being solitary animals, guests will commonly see the two in separate habitats.
Their pairing is part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan (SSP), which supports the conservation and genetic diversity of endangered species.
Malayan tigers are endangered in the wild, with fewer than 150 estimated to remain in their natural habitat. Programs like the SSP play an important role in ensuring the long-term stability of the species through managed breeding and education efforts.
“Our Zoo is excited to support the conservation efforts of the Malayan tiger SSP in this way,” said Nicole Presley, the zoo’s general curator. “Kingdoms of Asia was designed with the intention to have more space for pairing, and we are happy to bring that goal to fruition. We are hopeful that there could be tiger cubs in the Zoo’s future.”