As part of Flamingo Land’s ongoing commitment to protecting endangered species, in late 2008 the zoo team began to discuss the potential for breeding Sumatran tigers. Driven by the ongoing decline of these beautiful creatures in the wild, further investigation resulted in the foundations of a long-term plan.

Now, as the culmination of over twenty-four months of research, planning and habitat creation, Tuesday 2nd September saw the arrival of Bawa, a two-year-old male Sumatran tiger, weighing in at a healthy 109 kilos. Just a few days later, Surya, a 17-month-old female, joined Flamingo Land’s newest arrival and both are now settling in well.

Named after a small island off the coast of Sumatra, Bawa (pronounced Barway) was born at the Wildlife Heritage Foundation in Kent on 27th July 2008. Over 200 miles due west, Surya (pronounced sue-ree-a), meaning Sun, was born at Paignton Zoo Environmental Park in Devon on 5th February 2009. Weighing just over 60 kilos, she’s noticeably smaller than her male counterpart.

Carefully paired by the Sumatran tiger coordinator at London Zoo, Surya is genetically the fourth most important female Sumatran tiger in the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP). Operated by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), this ongoing initiative manages Europe’s captive population of endangered animals. Together with Bawa, the couple are an ideal genetic pair, having the potential to enjoy several litters of cubs during their long life together.

Both Bawa and Surya will be kept indoors until at least Friday 17th September, separately from each other by a simple mesh divide. Normally solitary animals, they will be slowly introduced over the coming weeks and, if successful, will subsequently be released outside.

Only found naturally in Sumatra, a large island in western Indonesia, this unique tiger’s habitat ranges from lowland forests to sub-mountain and mountain forests. Its stripes are narrower than other subspecies, with the male having a more prominent beard and mane. Sumatran tigers have webbing between their toes, helping them to swim at great speed. They are also the smallest of the five remaining tiger subspecies, making movement through dense forests far easier. Bawa and Surya will provide a stark contrast to Flamingo Land’s existing Siberian tigers, the largest of the whole family.

With only 500 Sumatran tigers remaining in the wild and 97 in captivity across mainland Europe, they’re now a critically endangered subspecies. 25 of these now live in 13 British zoos, including Flamingo Land.

The Theme Park & Zoo hasn’t enjoyed welcoming the patter of tiny tiger paws since the ‘70s, and so are wishing Bawa and Surya every success together.