@Ituri: that aerial view is really cool, and the google earth images here at ZooChat are fantastic for seeing zoos from a different angle. I still don't like the tiger exhibit though...haha.
A similar tiger exhibit to Miami's. I think Miami's is much better though, as it is larger and the tigers practically have a whole river to swim in (The moat at Miami's tiger exhibit is used by the tigers for swimming).
I think the reason why the group of 6 tigers is seperated into 2 groups of 3
is becuase each group is a group of three sisters that get along with only each other
Ahh thats what i thought. I guess that there are alot of generic tiger in the US then? i read somewhere that there are more tigers in the US alone then in the wild. is this just some silly wildly exagerated myth or could it possibly be true?
Ahh thats what i thought. I guess that there are alot of generic tiger in the US then? i read somewhere that there are more tigers in the US alone then in the wild. is this just some silly wildly exagerated myth or could it possibly be true?
While watching a program about tigers, and the unfortunate escape and attacks at the San Francisco Zoo on the National Geographic channel this weekend. They did comment that "there are more tigers in captivity, than those remaining in the wild." I took that to mean throughout the world, not just in America. And with the wild population said to be about 4,000, I still question the captive numbers as being quite that high. Of course, including circuses, private collections and exotic pets, that might be about right.
The high numbers of generic tigers in the U.S. are mainly in the private sector: exotic pets, circuses, non-accredited zoos. Most AZA zoos now have pure subspecies, as requested by Felid TAG, but there are still exceptions. (I recently saw a pair of white and orange generic at Nashville Zoo, an AZA facility, and keepers said they have no immediate plans to switch to an SSP pairing because their generics are still relatively young. And Wildlife World Zoo in my state of Arizona is notorious for breeding white tigers.)
There are A LOT of tigers (plus various other big cats, but tigers take the lead) in private hands in this country. Many (lucky ones) end up in sanctuaries for unwanted exotic cats. Some of the biggest and best of these are Big Cat Rescue (Florida), Shambala (California), Tiger Haven (Tennessee), Keepers Of The Wild (Arizona).
Recent legislation (pushed by sanctuaries, especially Big Cat Rescue and Shambala) has made it illegal to transport exotic cats across state lines without a permit. It is unclear if this is helping with the problem. Big Cat Rescue reported that their number of requests to take in cats went down the following year, but when I toured Shambala that same year they said their number of requests was the same.
As for the Disney exhibit, the other exhibit (not the one pictured) is the better of the two, but the temple theming is equally obnoxious.
i dont know about you guys but that makes my jaw drop BIG time. If the keeping of pet tigers was banned or even limited to using a permit, this would mean that there would be thousands, or at least hundreds of tigers in need of a home. unfortunatly i image that a large amount would be put down...
