Results of the Tiger Naming and the Postcards To Protect
Competition
 Save The Tiger Fund and
The ExxonMobil Foundation have teamed up with
the National Zoo to name their three new Sumatran
tiger cubs.
While the cubs' public debut was an exciting event for National Zoo
staff and visitors, Dr. Mahendra Shrestha, director for the Save The
Tiger Fund (STF), reminded today's audience that wild tigers and their
habitat are in peril: A recent STF study by Zoo scientists and their
colleagues showed that tigers now occupy only seven percent of their
historic range in Asia. In fact, this comprehensive study used
on-the-ground evidence and land-use information to determine that these
big cats inhabit 40 percent less habitat than they were thought to
inhabit only a decade ago. Protection from poaching, preserving prey
species and guarding habitat will help save tigers from extinction. This
can only happen with public support, which made today's event an
important tool for conservation: The ExxonMobil Foundation and STF are
helping the National Zoo spread the conservation message to more than 2
million Zoo visitors a year.
Post Cards to Protect
As part of a long-term commitment to tiger conservation, the
ExxonMobil Foundation, STF and Friends of the National Zoo sponsored a
contest called "Postcards to Protect," where children ages 6 to 12
designed postcards featuring the Zoo's tiger cubs and a message about
saving tigers. Megan Seymour, a 12-year-old girl from Fairfax, Va., won
the contest and received a trip for four to today's public debut where
Zoo Director Berry read her poem. Friends of the National Zoo received
80 entries from 19 states and the District of Columbia. All postcards
will be given to STF and then sent to the Centre for Environmental
Education in India, where they will be used in a traveling exhibit
educating students about the conservation of tigers and other
wildlife.
Click
here to see the winner and some other great entries
Tiger Naming Competition
Berry also announced the results of the naming contest for the
cubs-nearly 20,000 votes were cast between July 21 and Aug. 21. The
winning names are as follows, translated from Bahasa Indonesian:
Male cub: Guntur (goon-TURR; with a rolled r), meaningthunder
Female cub: Melati (ma-LAH-tee), meaning jasmine
Female cub: Maharani (mah-hah-RON-ee), meaning queen
Click
here to see our tiger cub gallery
Click here to see the National zoo's tiger web
cam
Click here to find out about the role of zoo breeding in
tiger conservation
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