{"id":110255,"date":"2019-12-24T10:25:15","date_gmt":"2019-12-24T15:25:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=110255"},"modified":"2019-12-24T10:25:15","modified_gmt":"2019-12-24T15:25:15","slug":"rosamond-gifford-zoo-welcomes-new-amur-tiger-thimbu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=110255","title":{"rendered":"Rosamond Gifford Zoo welcomes new Amur tiger, Thimbu"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon and Rosamond Gifford\nZoo Director Ted Fox announced a new arrival to the zoo \u2013 a 9-year-old male\nAmur tiger named Thimbu (pronounced \u201cTim-boo\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thimbu came to Syracuse from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in\nColorado Springs on December 4 as part of the Species Survival Plan for Amur\ntigers, which are critically endangered in their native Far East Russia. Thimbu\nwill be joined by a female early next year in hopes of producing cubs to\nincrease the Amur tiger population, Fox said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The zoo lost both of its elderly Amur tigers, male Toma and\nfemale Tatiana, this past fall. The pair produced triplet cubs at the zoo in\n2011 and were both almost 20 years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an accredited member of the Association of Zoos &\nAquariums, the Rosamond Gifford Zoo is approved to participate in the Amur\ntiger SSP and expressed interest in continuing that role, Fox said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPrior to the passing of Toma and Tatiana, we were in\nconversation with the Amur tiger SSP to request a breeding pair of Amur tigers,\nand that is how Thimbu came to us,\u201d Fox said. \u201cWe will be welcoming a female to\nintroduce him to in the near future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

County Executive Ryan McMahon was on hand to introduce the\nnew tiger into the Amur tiger exhibit on the zoo\u2019s Wildlife Trail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am thrilled to be here to welcome this amazing animal and\nacknowledge the important role of our zoo in working to save his species,\u201d\nMcMahon said. \u201cOnce again, our zoo is entrusted with an animal and a mission\nthat few other zoos are able to take on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of 239 zoos and aquariums accredited by AZA, about 23 are\napproved to care for and breed Amur tigers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once called Siberian tigers, Amur tiger numbers and their\nrange has shrunk to the Far East part of Asia along the Amur River. Fewer than\n500 individuals remain in the wild.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thimbu was one of quadruplet cubs born at the Denver Zoo in\n2010. He lived there with his brother Nikolai until last year, when he moved to\nthe Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Keepers there quickly fell in love with Thimbu, but\na recommendation for him to participate in the SSP brought him to Syracuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThimbu\u2019s keepers and fans throughout Colorado will miss\nseeing him at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo \u2013 but we know his relocation is an\nimportant move for the survival of Amur tigers,\u201d CM Zoo said in a blog post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some fun facts about Thimbu from the Cheyenne\nMountain Zoo:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thimbu\u2019s nickname is \u201cThim\u201d and he\u2019s a big boy, weighing\nabout 450 pounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His distinctive markings include a freckled nose and\ncharcoal-gray coloring near the tip of his tail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is known for rolling around on his back like a cub and\nvocalizations that sound like moaning and \u201chuffing\u201d rather than the usual tiger\n\u201cchuff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He loves scents including Prada perfume and the smell of\nfresh-brewed coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thimbu can be seen at the Amur tiger exhibit from now on.\nStay tuned for updates on the zoo\u2019s Facebook at www.facebook.com\/syracusezoo<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rosamond Gifford Zoo is Syracuse\u2019s accredited member of\nthe Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA), the gold standard for animal\ncare, wildlife conservation and guest experience. Visit the zoo\u2019s events\nwebsite at www.syracusezooevents.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon and Rosamond Gifford Zoo Director Ted Fox announced a new arrival to the zoo \u2013 a 9-year-old male Amur tiger named Thimbu (pronounced \u201cTim-boo\u201d). Thimbu came to Syracuse from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs on December 4 as part of the Species Survival Plan for Amur tigers, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":110256,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23813,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-top-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=110255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/110256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=110255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=110255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=110255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}