With a tentative sniff of the air and a few cautious steps, Binjai the Sumatran tiger made her public debut at Melbourne Zoo.
The young female arrived from Rotterdam Zoo in June as part of an international breeding programme and, after months of painstaking integration, was moved yesterday into a
public enclosure.
The next step will be to introduce her to her future mate, Ramalon.
Binjai's integration is essential to the success of the zoo's breeding programme, especially since the tsunami.
Melbourne Zoo's senior curator Jan Steele said the effect on Sumatra's tiger population and wildlife in general was likely to be "incredibly devastating".
Fewer than 400 tigers are estimated to be on Sumatra.
"You are dealing with island populations of animals that had limited resources to begin with and now a lot of those resources have been taken away." She said animals were also at risk of disease from polluted water supplies and rotting meat.
