Amur tiger · No. 15 of 22
Columbus Signs An International Free Agent
An Amur tiger from Seoul Zoo, moved under a global management plan.
The Deal
The Grades
Columbus
Brought in genetics from outside the North American population entirely. That is the whole point of a global plan.
The Breakdown
Most trades in this sport happen between institutions a few hundred miles apart, because proximity is the strongest predictor that a recommended move actually gets completed. This one came from Seoul.
Sarang is a four-year-old female Amur tiger who arrived at Columbus in July 2026 under a WAZA Global Species Management Plan, the international tier above the regional SSP. The reason a zoo goes to that trouble is genetics: with fewer than 500 Amur tigers left in the wild, the North American population needs founders it does not already have, and no amount of domestic trading creates new bloodlines.
Columbus is quietly one of the best developmental organizations in the sport. Three of the polar bears that moved between US zoos this year were born there.
