Michigan, Kentucky zoos swap tigers for breeding purposes
LANSING, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - A Michigan zoo swapped tigers with a Kentucky zoo on a regular habitat rotation to help with breeding purposes.
Timmy, a 6-year-old male Amur Tiger, left the Potter Park Zoo in Lansing to go to the Louisville Zoo in late Fall.
According to a release, zookeepers are still getting to know Timmy but say he is very interactive with them, has an affinity for goat milk and has a calm demeanor.
Vikenti, also a male tiger, was moved to the Potter Park Zoo in the swap.
Vikenti and the Louisville Zoo's female Amur tiger Sasha had not produced an offspring in several years, and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Amur Tiger Species Survival Plan recommended the swap for breeding purposes.
Recommendations like this are made to keep genetic diversity among animals in human care, as Amur tigers are endangered and rare in the wild and zoos.