A little secret—a couple of weeks ago, when I went over to Animal Kingdom to take birthday pictures of Bakso, I was actually more in love with the shots that I got of his mom, Sohni. She was sitting by one of the rough brick walls of their habitat, grooming herself and soaking up some sun while Bakso lounged in the grass further up the hill.
Like Bakso, Sohni is a Sumatran tiger, a critically endangered species with fewer than 600 (and perhaps as low as 400, depending on the source) remaining in the wild. She’s a part of Disney’s conservation and breeding efforts under the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan and gave birth to Bakso in September 2024. He was the first cub born at DAK in 7 years and a pretty big deal, especially given how few Sumatran tigers are left in the world.
You can find Sohni and Bakso together on the Maharajah Jungle Trek in the Asia section of DAK. It’s easy to miss this area of the park, but I can’t stress enough how much it’s worth the time, from Sohni and Bakso and Bakso’s dad, Conrad, to the aviary, to flying fox bats, water buffalo, and Komodo dragons. Easily one of my favorite areas in any Disney park—partly because it’s so easy to forget you’re in Disney at all when you’re in there. The Cast Members in the various areas are also incredibly informed and great to talk to when you have the time. I end up learning so much every time I visit.
Taken at 400mm, 1/400 second and f/9.0 to minimize motion blur and improve focus, ISO 2500 to compensate for the resulting low light.