Exotic tigers find new home at Rosamond breeding center

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The Exotic Feline Breeding Compound in Rosamond has welcomed the arrival of two Malayan tigers, allowing the wildlife conservation and research center to launch a breeding program for this endangered subspecies of tiger, according to information released by the facility.

The new tigers, Tiga, a 12-year-old male, and Bupati, a female aged 10, arrived Nov. 19 and will become part of a family of more than 70 of the world’s most endangered felines that make their home at the big cat compound, located about 86 miles north of Los Angeles in Kern County.

‘We’ve been waiting for this project to be completed so the public can come and see tigers on exhibit and know that they are an endangered species we have to save,’ said Camille Gadwood, public relations director for the Exotic Feline Breeding Compound.

According to the center’s website, Malayan tigers inhabit the southern and central parts of the Malay Peninsula, which includes parts of Thailand and Malaysia, and their population is estimated at 500 in the wild.Tiga and Bupati were acquired from a facility in Florida, Gadwood said. Malayan tigers are described as being smaller than Indian tigers, with females weighing between 52 pounds and 195 pound and males hitting the scales at between 104 and 285 pounds. The tigers’ diet includes a variety of deer, wild boar and Bornean bearded pigs, according to information from the breeding compound.

The facility is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day except Wednesdays, Thanksgiving and Christmas. General admission is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors and $5 for children ages 3 to 12. For more information, call (661) 256-3793.

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-- Ann M. Simmons