Page 31 - Club Braman Magazine Fall / Winter 2018

BRAMAN CONTINUES MULTI-YEAR COMMITMENT TO THE MALAYAN TIGER
Beyond Club Braman Events Lies A Deeper Cause
The Palm Beach Zoo is a signi cant venue for multiple Club Braman events during the year, including Roar And Pour and Food Truck Safari that rate among the favorites for our club member’s family fun.
Just as important is our multi-year nan- cial commitment which helped the Palm Beach Zoo double the size of the original Tiger habitat as well as the amount of be- hind-the-scenes space for tiger housing. March 2015, the "Tiger River" habitat was opened, adding an extra exhibit yard.
Our ongoing support of the health and wellness, education, and daily operations of the three Malayan tigers that call Palm Beach Zoo home, is pivotal in helping expand the zoo’s role as Malayan tiger ambassadors.
The Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jack- soni) inhabits the southern and central parts of the Malay Peninsula. It has been classi ed as Critically Endangered by IUCN; this population probably has fewer than 250 mature breeding individuals.
Malayan tigers are solitary animals, except for associations between individuals of both sexes at the time of mating as well as the mother and her cubs.
They are nocturnal animals, spending most of the day sleeping or traveling across their territories.
These territorial animals do not tolerate the appearance of a member of the same sex within their bounds. Male tigers have territories larger than that of females, and one male may have more than one female within its area for mating purposes.
which they begin living on meat and also begin accompanying their mothers on hunting trips. The mortality rate for infant Malayan tiger cubs is rather high, with less than 50% of juveniles getting past two years of age. They live for around 15-20 years in the wild. Malayan tigers commu- nicate through an array of vocalizations, including chu s, moans, growls, and roars. Scent marking is another prime method of non-visual and non-auditory communi- cation between two tigers.
Each tiger has its very own stripe pattern. Researchers who observe tigers can iden- tify individuals by their unique stripes!
Other interesting tiger markings are the white spots on the backs of their ears. This may be a visual cue for tigers looking for other tigers, or it may be a way for moth- ers to keep their cubs in sight in the dense forest undergrowth.
Some cats do like water—and tigers are among them! On a hot, steamy day in the Asian forest, tigers will take to the river to cool o . In colder climates, they enjoy the snow.
Visit the Palm Beach Zoo to learn More About Palm Beach Zoo's Conservation Ef- forts in Malaysia. A great show to catch is Braman’s Tiger Talk that is put on multiple times per day.
31
Like other tiger species, they are excellent swimmers and may spend a large part of its day in a shallow water body during the daytime heat.
While males reach sexual maturity at about ve-years-old, females become sexually mature much sooner at around three-years-old. Malayan tigers may
mate year round, but the females attain estrus between November and March. The Malayan tiger’s aggression during the mating sessions is a typical big cat mating behavior. Their gestation period ranges between 100 and 105 days after which a litter of three to four cubs are born.
Tiger cubs are born without eyesight and in a helpless state. They are fed milk for the rst two months of their life, after