New Tiger Exhibits

I attend LSU and walk by Mike the Tiger almost everyday (he knows me well and will come chuffle at me whenever I walk past). He is a Bengal-Siberian hybrid, though previous older Mikes were pure Bengals (since he lives alone, the university decided it didn't want a genetically valuable animal that would be a loss to breeding stock). The new habitat is well kept and Mike loves to interact with visitors through the viewing windows while in the water.

The new habitat at BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo (which is about 20 minutes or so away) is nice but yeah, IMO too it is a bit lacking of shade, as well as a little small for the amount of cats they put in the exhibits at once. And of course, the gibbons are housed across the pathway, lol. There is also an aviary adjacent with cranes and pheasants.
 
jbnbsn99 said:
There are no Bengal Tigers outside of the Subcontinent. Everything labeled a "Bengal" is in fact a hybrid.
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Do you know of any reason why? Does the Indian government prohibit the exportation of pure Bengals? Seems like an excellent feather in the cap for a zoo willing to take on the challenge.


Apologies for resurrecting an older thread.
 
1st, JB is right, there are no pure bengals in this country (again, unless you count the highly inbred stuff Antle has ),however, there are (or perhaps now 'were' is the correct term) a number of animals of very high percentage bengal, just a little siberian in them -their closest relative - no more impure than a large percentage of the Amur leopards in the country having a little genetic input from other subspecies, they are not 'pure' either. The reason US zoos don't have a program for bengals is simply the lack of space. They already have programs in place for Amur (siberian) tigers, sumatran, and malayans, all much more highly endangered than bengals. And, India has a good captive breeding program for them in their country, so there is no need for another. However, they would probably send some out if the right zoo asked.
 
I had read years ago (but I cannot say where) that US zoos planned to focus on the three (amur, sumatran, malayan - at the time called indochinese) and would relegate the indian/bengal breeding program to Indian and European zoos. But from what I am seeing here, Europe is not working with them either?
 
Arizona Docent said:
Visitors (even adults) at my zoo often refer to the lions as tigers. Just amazes me how clueless some people are. (I can certainly understand people confusing jaguars with leopards, but lions and tigers?)
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At the Good Zoo we once in a while have people who are convinced that our Ocelot is a tiger. :rolleyes:
 
MrOkapi said:
At the Good Zoo we once in a while have people who are convinced that our Ocelot is a tiger. :rolleyes:
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:eek:
It's just amazing how little people are informed about wildlife species. They should teach basic zoology in school so people can tell the difference between tigers, lions, and ocelots!
Also, I think people are a little confused about the contents of zoos. I was at Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo a few weeks ago and I heard people searching the map trying to find the African Elephants and Ginat Pandas!:rolleyes:

Isn't Good Zoo were Joaquin, Beardsley's old Andean Bear, was sent to?
 
Arizona Docent said:
I had read years ago (but I cannot say where) that US zoos planned to focus on the three (amur, sumatran, malayan - at the time called indochinese) and would relegate the indian/bengal breeding program to Indian and European zoos. But from what I am seeing here, Europe is not working with them either?
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That's correct, Europe only has a Siberian tiger and Sumatran tiger breeding program. There's no room for another.
 
MrOkapi said:
At the Good Zoo we once in a while have people who are convinced that our Ocelot is a tiger. :rolleyes:
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Thats ok, at Bronx zoo, I once had a father read the sign of Indian Rhino to his kids as rhinosaurus, as if it were some kind of dinosaur
 
MJMcB said:
Thats ok, at Bronx zoo, I once had a father read the sign of Indian Rhino to his kids as rhinosaurus, as if it were some kind of dinosaur
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I told my brother this and he couldn't stop laughing!!!!:D
That's a hilarious story.
 
An updated list: (2016 will see at least 4 new exhibits for tigers)

Including renovated existing habitats:

Disney’s Animal Kingdom – 1999*
Denver Downtown Aquarium - 1999*
Blank Park Zoo – 1999*
Dallas Zoo – 1999*
Rosamond Gifford Zoo – 1999*
Fresno Chaffee Zoo – 2001*
Oakland Zoo – 2001*
Zoo Boise – 2002*
Bronx Zoo – 2003*
Houston Downtown Aquarium – 2003*
Point Defiance Zoo – 2004*
Topeka Zoo – 2005*
Columbus Zoo – 2006*
Philadelphia Zoo – 2006*
Utah’s Hogle Zoo – 2006*
Franklin Park Zoo – 2006*
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay – 2008*
Louisville Zoo – 2008*
Dakota Zoo – 2008*
Erie Zoo – 2008*
Sedgwick County Zoo – 2009*
Baton Rouge Zoo – 2010*
Jackson Zoo – 2010*
Zoo Atlanta – 2010
Indianapolis Zoo – 2011*
Virginia Zoo – 2011*
Cincinnati Zoo – 2012
Kansas City Zoo – 2012
Jacksonville Zoo – 2014
John Ball Zoo – 2014
San Diego Zoo Safari Park – 2014
Woodland Park Zoo – 2015*
Phoenix Zoo – 2015
Tulsa Zoo – 2016
Cleveland Zoo – 2016
Denver Zoo – 2016
Nashville Zoo – 2016

* I've personally seen these exhibits
 
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