A new resident has joined the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo — Rimba, a two-year-old Sumatran tiger who recently arrived from Frankfurt Zoo in Germany. His mission: to meet Jakarta, a six-year-old female tiger, and hopefully help expand one of the world’s most endangered species.
Rimba and Jakarta met for the first time this week, separated by a fence, as part of a careful introduction process. “The meetings have been successful and full of curiosity,” zoo officials said, noting that the tigers will be brought closer gradually in the coming weeks.
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Rimba the Sumatran tiger
(Photo: Jerusalem Biblical Zoo)
The young tiger weighs about 95 kilograms and measures roughly two meters in length. Both animals are part of the prestigious European breeding program for Sumatran tigers, a subspecies critically endangered in the wild. Only a few hundred remain on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, their numbers shrinking due to poaching for traditional medicine and large-scale deforestation for palm oil and agricultural expansion.
Interestingly, another Sumatran tiger named Rimba — which means “jungle” in Indonesian — arrived at the Ramat Gan Safari eight years ago from Denmark.
In the wild, Sumatran tigers typically live up to 18 years, but in captivity, they can reach 22. Once Rimba and Jakarta successfully breed, their cubs are expected to be transferred to other zoos around the world as part of the global effort to preserve the species and strengthen the genetic diversity of the captive population.
The rainforests of Sumatra, home to these tigers, also host many other endangered species, including orangutans, pygmy deer, and numerous reptiles, birds, and amphibians. Zoos worldwide, including Jerusalem’s, are working to safeguard these ecosystems and provide a vital backup for wild populations under increasing environmental pressure.