NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – It’s safe to say The Tiger Crossroads Exhibit at the Nashville Zoo features some of the most ominous but beautiful animals at the zoo.

“The public gets a great view of them on exhibit,” Deanna Romanello, Nashville Zoo Lead Carnivore Keeper explained. “If you come here, you can see them being up close to the glass. You’ll see them far off in the distance. Sometimes they’ll be hiding out if they want a little bit of alone time off.”

And as big as these cats are, compared to other tigers, they are small.

“Sumatran tigers are actually the smallest tiger species out there,” Romanello said. “Females only weigh up to about 200lbs. Males can get up to 300lbs. And if you look at the Amur or Bengal tigers, they can get up to about 800lbs.”

They have three Sumatran tigers at the Nashville Zoo, Frances, Felix, and the newly acquired Anne. She will be making her debut to the public in the future.

And bringing awareness to Sumatran tigers is important because they are on the critically endangered list.

“Sumatran tigers are pretty much going extinct in the wild,” Romanello pointed out. “There are only a couple hundred of them left. So, having the visitors be able to see them in their naturalistic environment, it helps their cause and helps people support them. There are many ways you can do this. One of them is getting the PalmOil Scan app on your phone.”

So, what is the PalmOil Scan app for?

The PalmOil Scan app lists companies that support sustainable palm oils. So when you go shopping, you can buy products from companies that help prevent the deforestation of these animals’ habitats. The PalmOil Scan app was produced in collaboration with the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) and led by top conservation-minded zoos around the world.

To download it go to your iPhone App store or Google Play store.

On a lighter note, since Romanello works with these animals every day, we asked her what she liked the most about Sumatran tigers.

“I love the way the tigers smell. That is one of my major things. Each individual animal we work with has a distinct smell to them. And tigers have what I would say is sort of a pop-corny interesting smell to them,” Romanello said. “But I also love their coloration. So, their coat is very beautiful. It’s a very orangey coloration to them. And I do like their sassiness. They are sassy cats!”

Sassy, beautiful, and ominous!

Though they are native to a more tropical climate, they will still come out on sunny days in the wintertime as long as it’s above freezing.

News 2 has partnered with Nashville Zoo to bring you weekly segments of Zoopalooza. You can watch them on News 2 on Good Morning Nashville on Saturday and right here on WKRN.com.