Racine Zoo welcomes Naka, an Amur tiger who's lived in New York, Connecticut

RACINE -- Officials at the Racine Zoo are welcoming Naka, an Amur tiger!

According to a statement from the Racine Zoo, Naka was born on June 7th, 2004 at the Rosemond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York.

She was later moved to the Beardsley Zoo located in Connecticut in 2009.

She arrived in Racine in December!

Zoo officials said Naka weighs around 260 pounds and consumes 10 pounds of meat per day. She has a great, friendly personality with her new zookeepers.

“Naka has been in quarantine since her arrival in December 2016, getting to know her keepers, her surroundings and being slowly introduced to her neighbor Anya.” said Theresa Donarski, curator of conservation and animal care said in the statement. “Tigers are normally solitary animals and females would not live together in the wild. So living and rotating in dens and exhibits is something both of them will get used to in no time at all.”

According to Racine Zoo officials, the Amur tiger is the largest cat in the world and is also a critically endangered subspecies. By the 1940’s, hunting had pushed the Amur tiger to the verge of extinction. Causes to their dwindling numbers are from habitat loss and poaching. Russia became the first country in the world to grant them complete protection.

By the 80s, their population had increased to around 500 individual tigers. Continued conservation and anti-poaching efforts by many organizations, have helped keep the population stable at around 540.

If you would like to learn more or want to help save these magnificent cats, CLICK HERE.

Racine Zoo officials encourage you to come and welcome Naka to her new home. She is still getting used to the exhibit space and will have access to the dens and exhibit.