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The
Tiger Foundation is working with Taman Safari Indonesia and several
partners to create a world-class and humane Sumatran tiger sanctuary
at Taman Safari Indonesia, an organization that operates a spectacular
wildlife park located near Bogor on the island of Java. This remarkable
zoological institution is Indonesia's largest wildlife park and
has been designated by the country's Department of Forest Protection
and Nature Conservation as Indonesia's Centre for the Reproduction
of Endangered Wildlife. Widely recognized as the world's premier
ex
situ Sumatran tiger conservation institution, they care for
one of the largest managed populations of Sumatran tigers in the
world. Most of these animals have been "rescued" from the wild,
where they have come into conflict with humans and would normally
have been exterminated. Some of the tigers were obtained from people
who kept them as pets, in menageries, or in circuses.
TSI's
Sumatran breeding program is a promising alternative to having "problem
tigers" destroyed, along with their priceless genes. TSI also maintains
a modern genome
resource bank. It is our belief that because these tigers are genetic
representatives of wild populations that have been fragmented along
with their habitat, they may some day offer one of the best opportunities
to prevent inbreeding of wild Sumatran tigers - a potentially critical
problem in the near future. The work of TSI is a promising new frontier
in the world of tiger conservation. This valuable project is currently
looking for funding to expand and improve its facilities.
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