SOUTH KOREA: Tigers and penguins prepare to celebrate the Lunar New Year

Record ID: 524237

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA: Tigers and penguins prepare to celebrate the Lunar New Year
  • Date: 12th February 2010
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) 19-YEAR-OLD MIN SEON-AE SAYING: "I heard this is the only white tiger safari in the world. I was scared in the beginning, but now they look cute and marvelous. This will make a good memory especially with lots of snow around." WHITE TIGERS VISITORS (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) 19-YEAR-OLD CHOI SONG-HI SAYING: "It's amazing to see white tigers in person. I
  • Embargoed: 27th February 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Environment / Natural World,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVADUCMLYR3A0FH5KMMAE7NM7VAN
  • Story Text: A tiger cub born less than a month ago practiced on Thursday (February 11) her paw-print work on Lunar New Year calendars that will be given as gifts to visitors at a South Korean zoo.
    The three-weeks-old tiger, dressing up for New Year's, "roared" as human babies cried at the Everland theme park that also has a zoo located in Yong-in, south of Seoul.
    The park plans to ask visitors during the country's Lunar New Year holidays (February 13-15) to provide suggestions for a name for this tiger cub.
    According to the Chinese Zodiac, the year 2010 is the "Year of the Tiger" and begins on Sunday (February 14).
    "We are preparing this event of paw printing by a tiger cub for our visitors so that their wishes can come true through this cub's intrepid spirit in the Year of the Tiger," said Choi Ha-na, an employee at Everland.
    Five penguins from Africa, wearing their New Year's best, joined the rehearsal, parading around the theme park in the snow.
    During Lunar New Year holidays, 14 Jackass penguins, selected from about 60 at the park, will parade through the grounds.
    The park has 31 tigers, including 13 white tigers in an attraction called the White Tiger Safari.
    "I would like the visitors to enjoy watching our tigers and receive the tigers' intrepid spirit along with lots of fortune," said Mun In-joo, an employee at the safari.
    Hundreds of Koreans and foreigners, braving sub-zero winter weather, visited the park on Thursday.
    "I heard this is the only white tiger safari in the world. I was scared in the beginning, but now they look cute and marvelous. This will make a good memory, especially with lots of snow around," said 19-year-old Min Seon-ae.
    Everland says the White Tiger Safari is the only safari which keeps more than 10 white tigers together.
    "It's amazing to see white tigers in person. I am sure only good things will happen to me this year," said 19-Year-old Choi Song-hi.
    Animal experts say the last wild tiger was seen on the Korean peninsula in 1943.
    Barely 3,500 tigers are estimated to be roaming wild across 12 Asian countries and Russia, compared with about 100,000 a century ago.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register