KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Zoo Knoxville celebrated a special birthday on Friday. Batari, a Malaysian tiger, turned 10 years old. Staff at the zoo celebrated her birthday by making her a deer out of cardboard, bamboo and crafts and filling it with special treats.
"Enrichment is important to our animals especially when it comes to their species' specific behaviors," the zoo said on social media. "It's an honor to celebrate Batari and we hope to continue celebrating her species surviving and thriving for years to come."
The zoo said there are only around 200 Malaysian tigers in the world. She was also given a birthday cake specially made for her unique and carnivorous diet.
"It keeps them active, it keeps them mentally and physically healthy. It's very important that we do all these things for them so that they have the best life possible. And, that's our goal as zookeepers and as a zoo is to make sure all the animals we have here are happy, healthy and comfortable," said Paityn Glass, a team member at the zoo.