We're excited to announce the names selected for the three critically endangered Sumatran tiger cubs. The public voting contest kicked off on December 15 and closed yesterday, January 11. People voted with a donation to tiger conservation and the Zoo matched dollar for dollar. We raised just under $8,000 for the Tiger Conservation Fund, an organization helping to save native habitats, curb poaching, eliminate the trade of tiger parts and reduce human/tiger conflicts.
🐯 The winning female names are Kirana (key-RAHN-ah) — an Indonesian name meaning beautiful sunbeam and Zara (ZAR-ah) — a Malaysian name meaning princess and radiant
🐯 The winning male name is Bulan (BOO-lahn) – an Indonesian name meaning moon
The cubs were born on October 20, 2023, and are continuing to live behind the scenes and bond with mom, Anne. Once the cubs mature, they will eventually move to other zoos to meet their future mates and continue to help grow the population numbers for this species. In the meantime, Nashville Zoo is hopeful that sometime this spring the three tiger cubs will be visible for guests to see in the Tiger Crossroads habitat. Stay tuned to Nashville Zoo's website and social media for tiger cub updates.
PS: From left to right in the group photo are Kirana, Bulan, Zara