Audrey Joyce, a five-year-old girl from Canberra, has become an official sponsor of an Australia Zoo tiger cub after donating the inheritance she received from her grandparents. Audrey's donation is believed to be in the thousands of dollars, significant enough to get the right to name the newest feline addition to the zoo. However, the exact amount of money she donated remains undisclosed.
The name "Reggie" was given to the 11-week-old cub, after both of Audrey's great-grandfathers. "My mum and dad's grandpas were named Reginald which is why I picked Reggie as the name," Audrey said.
The young Australian said she gave the money to the Wildlife Warriors' conservation project that protects wild tigers in Sumatra because poachers "want their faces, skin and their bodies to make money from them." There was a more personal reason for her generosity as well. "I was born in the year of the tiger which is why they're my favorite animals. We need to protect them from extinction," Audrey added.
Reggie is the third Sumatran tiger arrival this year, taking the zoo's tiger population to 14. With just 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild, funding the programs that protect them from illegal poaching and habitat destruction are the best chance at saving them.
