Sumatran Tigress - 'Nyla'

This is NYLA. She was donated to us from another facility. Her lineage is 82% Sumatran and 18% Indochinese Tiger. Nyla is a 12 year old tigress and weighs about 380 pounds. And, Nyla is an actress! In 1997 she starred in an Exxon commercial!

It is believed that only about 200 Sumatran tigers exist, in and out of captivity. Sumatran tigers are found only on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. Forest loss due to agriculture and poaching continues to decrease their numbers.

Nyla is a very vocal cat as many tigers are. All of these cats here express themselves to us in their own special way. Nyla, like all the other cats, is leash broken and house broken, which means they know how to use a litter box. Nyla also goes with us as part of our outreach program, acting as an ambassador of her species, in the hopes of stimulating minds, young and old, to do just one thing in their lives to save these cats for future generations to see.

In many ways the tiger today stands at a crossroad - behind it lay years of depletion through over-hunting and loss of natural habitat. If this trend continues, the road ahead is one of total extinction of the wild tiger. However, two further paths lay open, those of conservation in its natural habitat and controlled management of existing captive animals. Just which path the tiger takes is not up to the animals - but up to us.