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ADANGPARIAMAN: A Sumatran tigress (Panthera tigris sumatrae), caught by residents of Tarok village, Nagari Kepala Hilalang, Padangpariaman regency, West Sumatra, will undergo a matchmaking ceremony to pair her with a tiger in Bukittinggi.

Tiger keeper at Kinantan Zoo, Marno, said that the matchmaking was an effort to preserve the tiger population. He said that the tigress’ suitor was Bancah, a 21 year old tiger that was caught in a deer trap in Solok Selatan and had been a resident of the zoo in Bukittinggi for five years. Due to his injuries from the trap, Bancah’s right hind leg had had to be amputated.

“If this tigress can breed with Bancah, we can add to the population of Sumatran tigers,” he said, as quoted by Antara.

He said that there were two other tigers that had completed a period in quarantine in West Sumatra; both had been fitted with satellite collars with Global Positioning System (GPS) technology.