The National Zoo has acquired a new male Sumatran tiger as part of a species-survival breeding plan. Sparky, a 12-year-old specimen, is on display at the Great Cats exhibit where he will cohabitate with the zoo’s resident female tiger, Damai, who is “a proven breeder and mother,” according to a zoo press release.
So far, the tigers have only been introduced visually—they will meet physically over the next few months—but the meeting went well: Damai exhibited “affiliative behaviors” like chuffing when she saw Sparky, the zoo says. So welcome to Washington, Sparky the Sex Tiger.