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Omaha zoo to open tiger breeding facility

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An eastern Nebraska zoo plans to open a sperm bank and breeding facility for tigers at the zoo's nearby conservation park.

The Omaha World-Herald reports that the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium in Omaha announced the initiatives during a Facebook Live video Monday. The video is part of a weeklong conservation awareness campaign ahead of Global Tiger Day on Saturday.

The zoo broke ground on the breeding facility last week at its Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park and Wildlife Safari in Ashland. Those tigers won't be displayed to the public.

The main zoo campus is also now home to a genome resource bank for tigers. The zoo is collecting sperm samples from tigers in zoos nationwide and freezing them in liquid nitrogen tanks inside its Center for Conservation Research.

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