The Dallas Zoo has named two Sumatran tiger cubs who were born at the zoo last month after animal conservationists.
The cubs, born Dec. 6, to Suki and Kuasa, have been named Nety and Rudi and have a full sibling at the zoo -- Sumini. The Dallas Zoo said the names were chosen to honor two conservation heroes who have worked to save critically endangered Sumatran tigers.
"With only an estimated 400-600 Sumatran tigers remaining in the wild, each birth is a major win for this critically endangered species, and we're thrilled to be able to contribute to the population once again with these adorable new additions," zoo officials said in a press release last month.
Nety, the female cub, has been named in honor of Nety Riana Sari, a conservationist who works with WWF's Thirty Hills project. The Thirty Hills project restores deforested areas of the land in Sumatra, while also setting aside some land for local communities to generate income. The zoo said they were proud to support Thirty Hills through their Protecting the 12 conservation initiative.
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The zoo's male cub, Rudi, has been named in honor of Rudi Putra, National Geographic Fellow, and director of the Leuser Conservation Forum. Putra and the LCF have been fighting to protect an expanse of rainforest that is one of the last remaining intact rainforests in all of Indonesia, and the last place on Earth where wild rhinos, elephants, tigers, and orangutans still coexist.
The Dallas Zoo said last month that both cubs and mom were happy and healthy.
