THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 24, 1995 TAG: 9509240131
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: GUY FRIDDELL
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
On a chilly, breezy Saturday in Norfolk, the largest crowd in the Virginia Zoo's history turned out for the opening of a habitat for two exotic Siberian tigers.
A continuous line fed the zoo's entrance as cars filled parking lots and lined roadways between them.
``An incredible day,'' said administrative aide Tammy Lindquist, ``with 5,428 visitors.''
If people were under wraps, the weather was right for tigress sisters Shere and Shaka, whose thick coats enable their rare breed to withstand rigorous Russian winters.
To the spectators' delight, the tigers frolicked and played as if they were kittens in their newfound stream and pool.
After being released Wednesday into their new world, ``each day they're more at ease, '' said Zoo Superintendent Gary Ochsenbein. ``They are adapting rapidly.''
Their new space of 8,000 square feet is the largest they have known, he said. And they felt thick, luxuriant grass underfoot as they picked their way with dainty steps into a wondrous world.
The spacious habitat allows them now to make an extended run, which Shaka did, breaking into a headlong dash toward a huge viewing window lined with a skyline silhouette of spectators.
The tiger loping their way startled them. Shaka didn't stop. She climbed an embankment and, rearing her widespread forepaws, she splayed her tawny length against the window. Spectators gaped through glass two inches from the fierce face of one of the most beautiful creatures on earth.
Meanwhile, her sister lay watching, midway in the habitat, her back to a viewing station shielded by vertical high-tension steel wires.
Every tiger feature fascinates. As Shere sprawled on the ground, her long orange and black striped tail twitched and switched and looped now and again in the air.
And when she raised her head to get a better view of the cavorting Shaka, onlookers got a view of her huge upper torso conveying the tiger's massive might. Yet, at 3 years, the tigers are wary of impressions rushing them.
Not long ago, as cubs rescued by a federal agent from an illegal sale, they lived in the home of animal superintendent Louise Hill and nestled between the forepaws of a golden retriever, Maggie.
Now weighing 300 pounds, midway to an ultimate 600, the tigers have a long way to grow, as does the habitat, said Ochsenbein.
In three years, the grass will be knee high. Thick bamboo and flourishing vines and brush will turn the habitat into a deep forest glen, recalling William Blake's lines: ``Tyger, tyger burning bright in the forst of the night.''
And it is a preamble, Ochsenbein said, to the growth of the zoo into one of the nation's best. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/Staff
At the viewing window on Saturday, visitors to the Virginia Zoo got
a close-up look at Shaka, while she got to look at them.
by CNB