Mazyria, or “Mazy,” was born at the Zoo de Granby in Quebec in 2007, and produced a litter of cubs there in 2013. She came to the Toronto Zoo in 2019 to be a breeding partner for our male tiger, Vasili, which resulted in the bird of Mila in 2021. Mazy is a very attentive and affectionate mother. She is frequently observed enticing Mila to chase her around the exhibit. Mazy is generally aloof towards humans and it often takes significant time for new keepers to gain Mazy’s trust.

Vasili was born at the Calgary Zoo in 2012 and lived at the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg before arriving at the Toronto Zoo in 2018. Keepers describe Vasili as having a “goofy” personality. He is large, energetic and very excitable. He can often be heard roaring in his habitat, presumably communicating with the  other tigers at the Zoo or with his keepers. Vasili also enjoys water and can often be found lounging in his pool on hot summer afternoons.

Mila is the newest member of the Zoo’s Amur tiger population; she was born here on May 1, 2021. Growing up as a singleton cub, Mila spends much of her time exploring, interacting with her mother, Mazyria, or checking out the guests around her habitat. She is also very playful, often destroying paper bags, boxes and other enrichment items. Mila also plays with her food and may be seen parading around her habitat with a rabbit or bone in her mouth. Mila is also a bit of troublemaker – she frequently attempts to steal food from her mother... and sometimes she succeeds!

Kemala was born at the Los Angeles Zoo in 2007, and came to the Toronto Zoo in 2012. Kemala is a very smart, assertive, and intense tiger. She likes to set the tone of her training sessions and will tell keepers when, where, and with whom a training session will take place (new keepers have to invest time to get her acceptance). She seems to enjoy the challenge of learning advanced behaviours, and will sometimes even refuse a tasty treat after partaking in complex behaviour like injection. Kemala’s favourite enrichment items have novel smells. She loves perfume, items that have been in the rhino house, and one of her favourite scents is fresh Christmas trees!

Hari was born at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in 2008 and came to the Toronto Zoo in 2011. Hari has a relaxed personality and aims to please during his training sessions with keepers. He is very food motivated— keepers often joke that Hari will let them do anything to him for a piece of meat. Although he is pretty easy going, he tends to be quite vocal about his dislikes (keepers often refer to these vocalizations as his “whine”). He often whines when new training behaviours are being introduced and he hasn’t quite figured it out yet… but also when food is not being given fast enough, when weather conditions are unfavourable and he is given the option to go outside, and when Kemala is playing with his toys. Hari is big fan of enrichment and is very particular about the placement of favourite enrichment items (balls and barrels).