Happy Birthday Mencari: Old girl in line for blood ice block to celebrate milestone

Mencari, who resides at Hamilton Zoo, is currently the second-oldest Sumatran tiger on record.

Aging Sumatran tiger Mencari celebrates her 23rd birthday at Hamilton Zoo on Tuesday, January 10 - probably with an ice block made of blood, one of her favourite treats on a hot day.

Mencari is the second-oldest Sumatran tiger listed on current records. The life expectancy of Sumatran tigers in the wild is approximately 12 to 14 years. In captivity, they can live into their late teens and, on rare occasions, their early 20s.

Sumatran tigers are critically endangered, with numbers estimated at fewer than 400, predominantly due to habitat destruction and poaching for the illegal wildlife trade.

Mencari was born at Wellington Zoo in 2000 and transferred to Hamilton Zoo with siblings Jaka and Molek at 14 months old as part of the Australasian breeding programme. The three moved into a new purpose-built habitat and became the first tigers for Hamilton Zoo.

One of Mencari’s favourite humans, carnivore keeper Sam Jeune, said Mencari may be getting older and is understandably slower than the younger tigers, but she still has great agility for her age.

When asked what Mencari enjoys, Jeune said, “Like most cats, Mencari spends most of her time laying around soaking up the sun, and on a really hot day, blood ice blocks are a firm favourite.”

The zoo’s carnivore team leader, Shane Fox, said Mencari is assessed daily.

“Even though she is old, we recognise that age is not a disease, so we base our judgement on her capabilities and behaviours as an individual.”

Hamilton Zoo director Dr Baird Fleming said while she is still in good health, Mencari has started to show her age over the past few months.

“Her dedicated keepers keep a very close eye on her, with regular health and wellbeing checks from our vet team to ensure she is still happy and healthy,” said Fleming.

“But we are aware that each birthday is even more special than the last.”