ABQ BioPark Says Goodbye to Penari the Malayan Tiger, Welcomes His Brother Bunga

Penari was transferred to the Bronx Zoo on Tuesday while Bunga (pronounced "Boon-ya") came to the BioPark from the Dickerson Park Zoo in Missouri on the same day.​ Both moves were part of the Species Survival Plan.

 

Penari came to the ABQ BioPark in February 2017. He and Bunga were born in 2011 in West Palm Beach, Fla. and moved to the Jacksonville Zoo in 2013.

 

"While we're sad to say goodbye to Penari, we're also excited to welcome his brother Bunga, and to continue educating the public about these amazing animals and their conservation challenges in the wild," said ABQ BioPark Zoo Manager Lynn Tupa.

 

Visitors can get a closer look at Bunga on the Catwalk, where he is acclimating to his new habitat and caretakers.

 

Classified as critically endangered with fewer than 200 in the wild, the Malayan tiger is a subspecies that inhabits the southern and central parts of the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia.

 

Moves like this help to maintain sustainable, genetically diverse tiger populations and raise awareness about the plight of tigers and funding for their conservation. This move is particularly important as there are only 51 Malayan tigers in the Species Survival Plan in Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)-accredited facilities globally.

 

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