Ballarat Wildlife Park's teenage tiger Satu has celebrated his 15th birthday ripping apart boxes, chasing down new scents and enjoying extra treats from his keepers.
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Satu, who has called Ballarat home for a little over a year, also spent time sitting in his favourite place - on top of the hut in his enclosure, looking out at the kangaroos hopping nearby.
Ballarat Wildlife Park's Julia Leonard said Satu was "a really chilled tiger" who enjoyed the extra attention on his special day.
Satu was born in Germany before moving across the world to Taronga Zoo in Sydney, then to Australia Zoo on Queensland's Sunshine Coast before being trucked down to Ballarat Wildlife Park last year.
"His keepers have given him lots of treats and lots of extra smells," Ms Leonard said.
"He loves curry powder, coffee grounds, cinnamon, paprika and perfumes. The scents help keen their brain stimulated as they'd be responding to different scents in the wild."
Proving that tigers are really just big cats, Satu's other favourite playthings are cardboard boxes and there were several box 'presents' strewn around his enclosure for him to rip apart during the day.
Ms Leonard said it was hoped that Satu and the park's female tiger Maneki would be allowed to mate in the future. The pair have already produced a cub together when they were in Queensland.
Because Sumatran tigers are critically endangered, they are a globally managed endangered species and an international coordinator controls breeding programs at zoos around the world.
"We are waiting on approval ... there's a lot of paperwork," Ms Leonard said. "Being tigers you can't just have them together all year - they've got to be kept separate. But the sleep next to each other through the wire."
Being one of the more intelligent species in the park, along with dingos and meerkats, Ms Leonard said Satu and Maneki were missing visitors.
"They miss the people coming past. It's enrichment and something for them to look at. They've always been animals we have to give lots of enrichment to to make sure they are not getting bored."
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