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Expectant audience watches tiger’s ultrasound
By Cynthia Hubert – The Sacramento Bee
The flamingos and bongos and red pandas got their share of attention Monday in their digs at the Sacramento Zoo.
But the main attraction was a heavily sedated Sumatran tiger named Bahagia, who endured an ultrasound appointment in full view of zoo visitors.
Through large, unshaded windows in the zoo’s hospital, adults and children watched, riveted, as veterinarians checked Bahagia’s body parts and used ultrasound equipment to determine whether she was pregnant.
Renée C. Byer / rbyer@sacbee.com Dr. Scott Larsen, right, monitors Bahagia, a Sumatran tiger, as Dr. Ray Wack watches Monday at the Murray E. Fowler Veterinary Hospital at the Sacramento Zoo.
A pregnancy “would be momentous,” zoo spokeswoman Lauren Kraft said before the procedure.
Sumatran tigers are an endangered species, and the Sacramento Zoo is part of a program that manages their breeding.
Zoo staffers had observed “some activity” between 9-year-old Bahagia and her exhibit mate, Castro, said Kraft, and other “subtle behaviors” suggested the cat might be pregnant.
Alas, the ultrasound proved negative.
But it was a fascinating reality show nonetheless.
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