Tag Archives: Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo

Hawaiian tiger

White Bengal tiger, Tzatziki, rests in the shadeWhite Bengal tiger, Tzatziki, rests in the shade

It’s Halloween, so I thought I should post something scary. Trouble is, there’s not a lot of scary stuff on the Big Island. Then I thought of the tiger I saw while out hiking one day.

Around this point is when I get an angry call from the Big Island tourist bureau, so I should clarify that my hike was through Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo in Hilo and the tiger is Tzatziki, a white Bengal tiger. Tzatziki is one of two tigers at the zoo. They arrived in March of 2016 as replacements for Namaste, another white Bengal tiger, who died in January 2014 at the age of 15.

Tzatziki is a reasonable choice for Halloween. He’s ghostly white and, as for scary, just imagine tumbling into the tiger enclosure. I suspect it would be a rapid transition from spectator to chew toy.

For more information about Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens, go to hilozoo.org.

Abstracts: Yellow-spotted Amazon river turtles

This pair of yellow-spotted Amazon river turtles were waiting for something at Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens

This pair of yellow-spotted Amazon river turtles were waiting for something at Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens. Perhaps they were plotting a breakout, figuring out how to cut through the mesh, before making a plod for it.

For more information about Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens, go to hilozoo.org.

Grey crowned crane

A Grey crowned crane at Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens in Hilo.A Grey crowned crane at Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens in Hilo.

The grey crowned crane hails from eastern and southern Africa. It is decidedly not something seen everyday in Hawaii, unless you visit Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens just outside Hilo. The zoo bills itself as the only natural rainforest zoo in the United States.

While I was there, this crane was getting in some serious preening.

For more information about Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens, go to hilozoo.org.