It's too bad that the enclosure is not in Sweden, because then a court order would close it down permanently and I could stop reading about how "it's not as bad as it looks". Sadly, there will probably be cats living in it for decades. It is far from the worst exhibit of all time, and it has been much maligned here on ZooChat, but I think that in the 21st century expectations are much higher than ever before in terms of zoo husbandry and the quality of exhibits.
Dan, I don't think they're even classified as big cats. They're not much, if at all, bigger than Ocelots. Yes, this cage needs more enrichment and climbing stuff, but (personally) I think it's an ok size. Do you dislike it because of it's size?
I've never heard of Neofelis being called a big cat, always a small cat, medium cat, or sometimes miscellaneous or anomolous cat. Never 'Big Cat' - that title has always been reserved for species in the genus Panthera.
Regarding this enclosure, size is not really the issue, it's bigger and almost as tall as the Howletts Clouded Leopard cages (for a pair of Puma, this is a different matter although the problem has not yet arisen as neither are fully grown and are naturally smaller as they are of the Central American variety). The problem, I believe is the lack of planting and, possibly, climbing oppurtunities.
Personally, I don't think that it's a "bad" enclosure, below average yes but not "bad" as such, and for those of you who think it is, well that's just differences in opinion. I will just take this oppurtunity to say that most of the RSCC does look better in the flesh (from what she has said, I think ashley-h agrees with me on this one) and all of the animals did appear to be healthy and contented (there was no stereo-typical behaviour, for example).
I notice that some of you would accept a cage like this if it was off-exhibit - because the animals breed in it. I totally disagree. As many of you mention, animals will often breed under whatever conditions.
(snip)
Now, I am not a zoologist and I have no degree in ethology, but I am absolutely sure that no big cat can live a happy life in small cage like this - and this is the only relevant argument for me. The argument that an endangered species would breed in this awful cage holds no value to me. Some of the endangered cats (and many other species) now exist in such small numbers in the wild that they no longer have any importance for evolution. Saving a species only for the reason that some people will find pleasure in being able to watch the animals in question in zoos, is not good enough for me. I want more than that. If many of the big cats will soon go extinct in the wild, I want the big cats kept in captivity to live good lives. This they cannot do in small cages like this one.
I do, I thought it was nice, and seems as though it's being improved all the time. I do think the owner is over ambitious and should have waited to expand before getting the sun bears and snow leopards.
Dan, all I can say with is that I don't really agree with you on the size issue, as I believe big cats (or small cats as I think we decided clouded leopards are) can be happy in a smaller enclosure with enrichment like the Asian lions have at Bristol zoo. I don't believe that big cats need the masses of land some people believe.
So does a domestic dog. But would anyone ever dream of incarcerating a spaniel or a terrier for life in a cage about the size and height of a big living room and expect it to be content in there?
