KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Zoo Knoxville welcomed its newest Malayan tiger to the family, Tahan!
Tahan is the brother of Tanvir and Bashir, two previous male tigers from the zoo.
"Tigers can be difficult to breed... which is why in human care, we have to, often, kind of trade out tigers if the pair doesn't get on well," said Petty Grieve, the Asian Trek curator.
There are not many Malayan tigers left in the wild, which is why it is important for the zoo to help save the species from extinction. Since the zoo is a part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, they would like to help the population to breed more tigers.
The zoo is starting to develop a relationship with Tahan so that they will be able to take the best care of him.
As far as introducing him to the other tigers, it will take some time.
"When we put them together, we actually have an introduction protocol," said Grieve. "We take a lot of time to talk through the steps, we have a lot of safety measures we put into place because it can be dangerous to do tiger introductions."
The zoo wants to ensure that Malayan tigers are still here for future generations. They want to help ensure that the ecosystem can continue.