Meet Emerson, Zoo Atlanta’s new tiger

The 10-year-old Sumatran tiger arrived from Mississppi’s Jackson Zoo
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Emerson tiger Zoo Atlanta
Welcome, Emerson!

Photograph courtesy of Zoo Atlanta

Zoo Atlanta has a brand new fuzzy face for you to meet, and no, it’s not a baby panda (as delightful as that would be). Emerson, a 10-year-old Sumatran tiger, has arrived from Jackson Zoo in Mississippi and will hopefully become a mating partner for the zoo’s female Sumatran tiger, 13-year-old Chelsea.

Emerson is a big guy for his species—341 pounds—and was named after poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. (When he was born at the Sacramento Zoo in 2006, he and his two littermates were given arts-inspired names—one was named for Rudyard Kipling (he currently resides at the Dallas Zoo) and the other for Julie Taymor.) He’s also the son of another Zoo Atlanta alum—Bahagia, who was born here in 2000. He takes the place of Kavi, Zoo Atlanta’s 15-year-old tiger who passed away in December.

Emerson is already in his new habitat in the zoo’s Complex Carnivores area and will be one of the animals spotlighted for Zoo Atlanta’s Endangered Species Day this Saturday.

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