Ballarat Wildlife Park's new tiger enjoying her new home

Having arrived mid May, Akasha is slowly coming out of her shell thanks to lots of enrichment, says operations manager Jared Mulholland.

Mr Mulholland said sleeping atop the hideaway has quickly become a favourite spot for the big cat.

"She's a pretty relaxed tiger, she loves sleeping up top of the deck overlooking interesting things," he said.

Akasha is Kai's sister and she was purchased from Queensland's Dreamworld.

The cats are kept busy with plenty of enrichment.

"Akasha is pretty interactive with her enrichment, we offer a lot," Mr Mulholland said.

"The cats climb the trees, chasing things. She really enjoys it and exerts herself enough she sleeps for a lot of the day."

Akasha has a protein diet but her favourites are deer and chicken which helps her keep her optimal weight of 120kgs, 50 kilos lighter than her brother, who is 170kg.

While Kai may not have got on much with his little sister in the early days, they now spend their days in side-by-side enclosures, with Kai becoming much more vocal with another tiger around.

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"Kai is more vocal when she is in oestrus season. We notice he vocalises a lot more ... he is normally pretty silent," Mr Mulholland said.

"Behaviour-wise, he's a relaxed cat."

When in oestrus season, Akasha likes to flirt with her keepers, rolling around when they visit her.

Mr Mulholland said the cats are always an exciting stop for visitors.

"They're eye-catching animals," he said.

"It's been really positive when people come to visit.

"It's good to have both as great ambassadors and educators."

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