For a while people can see the iconic white tiger Asia in Zoparc Overloon. The animal will soon be moving to another zoo in France to enjoy her old age in the company of another white tiger.
Asia was born in 2014. “She is an iconic animal in our park and loved by our visitors,” says Steven van den Heuvel of Zoparc Overloon. “In the coming weeks she can still be seen for our visitors, but then she leaves for Zoo De la Flèche in France. There she will live together with another white tiger. It is more pleasant for both animals to spend the last years of their lives together.”
White tigers do not occur in the wild. They are Bengal tigers with a genetic deviation, so that they cannot survive in the wild due to their different color. Moreover, they often have physical problems. That is why there is now a extinction policy for white tigers: the animals are no longer allowed to reproduce and will eventually disappear from recognized European zoos.
On Facebook, many visitors to the park say that they will miss Asia. ‘Ah Mupke anyway, you were there so alone. I hope you can still share your last years with your counterpart. I think you are a beautiful animal. Will definitely miss you. Good journey, sweetheart, “writes Carin.
Zoparc Overloon had two white tigers, but Rama died in 2023. That animal was eleven years old. Asia has been living alone since then. According to Zoparc Overloon, that is not bad, because Tigers naturally live alone. Now that she is getting older, the zoo thinks it is important that it lives together with a different tiger.
The number of tigers in the Overloonse Zoo does not change. A young male amur tiger will come from Poland soon. This new tiger, also known as the Siberian tiger, will initially live separate from the female who is already staying in the park. Perhaps they will be put together in the future and there is a chance that young tigers will come.