Regarding lion longevity, Susie from the North Brighton Zoo was already 23 when she went to Orana Park in August 1996, and she died there a year later in June 1997.
Felids in Australasian Zoos – News, History and Discussion
Susie and her sister Sonia were imported by me from Bacchus Marsh Lion Safari, Victoria in early 1973. They were about 3 months old at that time.
Was this the same Susie and Sonia that were owned by Carlos’ Circus at some point? On 30/03/1978, Sonia and the circus’ male lion (Sultan) escaped and were shot by police; the other lioness (Susie) remained in her cage and survived. The article claims they were around three years old (born 1974/1975), but it’s possible they were out by a year or two.
Here’s the article on the incident for those who are interested: The Lions of Lawrence
Yes, she came to the North Brighton Zoo from the circus.
Darling Downs zoo has now announced the arrival of two pairs of caracals planned for breeding
Darling Downs Zoo
Darling Downs Zoo
Fantastic news. Along with the 1.6 Caracal already held in the region, there are now double figures of this species across five facilities: Wellington Zoo, Tasmania Zoo, Darling Downs Zoo, Hunter Valley Zoo and the Wild Cat Conservation Centre.
Its very unlikely Wellington zoos females will ever see a male.
Its very unlikely Wellington zoos females will ever see a male.
When Wellington Zoo imported Caracal, they were the only zoo in the region to hold this species. Given the length of time before any of the Australian facilities made imports, I think it’s safe to assume that the decision to import Caracal by Wellington was made independent of any regional plan and for the sole purpose of enhancing their Grasslands Cats precinct.
Now there’s a thriving regional population of this species, it’d be nice to see Wellington Zoo participate in the breeding programme; but like many of the region’s main zoos, I struggle to see them thinking beyond what they simply need to do to get visitors through the door (display a Caracal).
Interestingly the conservation status of both Serval and Caracal is of Least Concern; while the Endangered Fishing cat is largely ignored by the region - presumably because they make less engaging exhibits than their African counterparts.
It would be great to see Wellington zoo be part of a regional breeding program and I would really like to see this happen but would be quite surprised to see it happen.
Fishing cats across some of our regional zoos would be wonderful, I am not really sure as to why only Taronga are the only ones holding them as they seem to do with a number of species in their collection
It would be great to see Wellington zoo be part of a regional breeding program and I would really like to see this happen but would be quite surprised to see it happen.
Fishing cats across some of our regional zoos would be wonderful, I am not really sure as to why only Taronga are the only ones holding them as they seem to do with a number of species in their collection
They’re also held at Hamilton Zoo. They have 1.2 cats and Taronga Zoo have 1.1. They were previously held at Melbourne and Perth Zoo.
Taronga bred them as recently as the early 2000’s and Melbourne Zoo bred them in the 1990’s. Melbourne presumably had a similar set up to the one they for breeding Temminck’s golden cat (multiple off display exhibits) - as like many small cats, it’s difficult to breed when on public display.
The elusive nature of the Temminck’s golden cat, Leopard cat and Fishing cat means they fail to captivate the general public like a Serval or Caracal does; but I sure miss seeing the former two in our region’s zoos and hope the Fishing cat breeding programme won’t be similarly abandoned.
@Zoofan15 Totally agree, theres a lot of promise with the Fishing Cats in the region, I certainly hope more Zoos come on board soon/again. Its unfortunate that the three mentioned species are all just as magnificent as Servals and Caracals are yet the general public arent always captivated by them just because Temmincks, Fishing and Leopard Cats arent as showy as Caracals and Servals, and yet when we are lucky enough to see them they are so stunning. I didnt know Hamilton Zoo kept Fishing Cats thats great. Think you're certainly right about Melbourne success with breeding Fishing Cats in the 90s being done out of public-display areas (still havent gotten a reply from them when asked about their individual Fishing Cats in the '90s). Apparently Perth Zoo's Fishing Cats came from Adelaide Zoo and am wondering if perhaps the individual(s) they sent to Perth Zoo may have been their last Fishing Cats? the thing about the Fishing Cat(s) at Perth Zoo (would love to find out names, birth dates etc) was that they apparently were only there for about four years arriving in mid 2004 (public display from 1/10/04) and apparently gone by the end of 2008 (and their vacated exhibit being unoccupied until the arrival of Raja the Komodo Dragon in 2013). Not sure what happened to the cat(s).
Hamilton Zoo currently have 1.2 Fishing cat - a male named Bandula; and two females named Indah and Sahaja. All three cats were imported from outside the region and are unrelated to each other.
The zoo has been trying to breed them for a while. Due to a combination of maintenance work up the hill and last year’s lockdown, their exhibits were closed to the public for several months in 2020. I hoped this would have helped their breeding efforts, as the zoo’s been trying for a number of years now.
Re. Melbourne Zoo’s Fishing cat population. They bred a female named Imphal 22/10/1998. She was sent to Taronga Zoo in February 2005; and then to Hamilton Zoo in July 2009.
Additional Fishing Cat Info
On 01/07/1994, Taronga Zoo held 0.1 Fishing cat according to a census found by @Hix. This is possibly the same cat in this 1996 photo (taken by @akasha): Fishing Cat (1996) - ZooChat
1.1 Fishing cats were born at Taronga Zoo 12/01/2002 and named Berenang and Cantik. Media releases note they were the first of their species born at the zoo. Their dam was named Fiddle and had one of her legs amputated after an altercation through the mesh with a Temminck’s golden cat. I believe their sire was Pakikan, but can’t find 100% confirmation. There’s a photo of the kittens here: Stock Photo - The first Fishing Cat cubs born at Sydney's Taronga Zoo are displayed after receiving their first veterinary checks on March 8, 2002. Beranang (L) and Cantik, now eight weeks
In May 2009, @CGSwans reported that Melbourne Zoo had 1.1 Fishing cat, which were noted by several other members to be brother and sister; and by the early 2010’s, noted to be “almost post reproductive” - placing their DOB around the late 1990’s.
On 16/07/2009, Hamilton Zoo imported 1.1 Fishing cat from Taronga Zoo (both now deceased). The male, Besar, was born in Singapore Zoo 17/09/2002 before moving to Taronga Zoo in July 2005; while the female, Imphal, was born at Melbourne Zoo 22/10/1998 and moved to Taronga Zoo in February 2005.
Taronga zoo has announced the birth of five lion cubs!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CT5t_WLoYox/?utm_medium=copy_link
https://www.instagram.com/p/CT5t_WLoYox/?utm_medium=copy_link
Full announcement from Facebook:
We are beyond excited to announce the birth of five African Lion cubs at Taronga Zoo Sydney! We couldn't be happier to report that both mum and cubs are doing extremely well and are growing in confidence every single day!
In some even more exciting news and in a first-ever at Taronga, we are giving YOU access behind-the-scenes to watch the cubs grow with Taronga TV's brand-new Cub Cam!
For a small tax-deductible donation of just $7, you can access Cub Cam and come along the journey with us as we watch these cubs grow as well as providing vital funds to support lion conservation work around the world!
For more information or to access Taronga TV's Cub Cam simply visit: www.taronga.org.au/cubcam
#forthewild #tarongatv #newarrivals #lioncubs #zooborn
We are beyond excited to announce the birth of five African Lion cubs at Taronga Zoo Sydney! We couldn't be happier to report that both mum and cubs are doing extremely well and are growing in confidence every single day!
In some even more exciting news and in a first-ever at Taronga, we are giving YOU access behind-the-scenes to watch the cubs grow with Taronga TV's brand-new Cub Cam!
For a small tax-deductible donation of just $7, you can access Cub Cam and come along the journey with us as we watch these cubs grow as well as providing vital funds to support lion conservation work around the world!
For more information or to access Taronga TV's Cub Cam simply visit: www.taronga.org.au/cubcam
#forthewild #tarongatv #newarrivals #lioncubs #zooborn
So from emails from Taronga and Perth and information shared by Tetrapod and Hix kindly over the years have learned that Mungo the male Serval was born at Taronga Zoo on 24 March 1983 to dam Shona and sire Zulu. Their exhibit was in the part of the zoo adjacent to 'Tahr Mountain' when prior to the Snow Leopards (and the current Sumatran Tiger complex) was the area that housed the zoo's Puma trio, Servals, Caracals and Jaguarundis during the 1980s and possibly before. Mungo was transferred to Perth Zoo on 2 August 1985 and for the first 11.5 years lived in an exhibit in the 'Lesser Primates' complex until sometime in 1996 when he moved into an exhibit (currently home of zoo's Radiated Tortoises) in the 'African Savannah' zone where he lived until he died in March 2003 aged 20/almost 20.
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Damn good age for a small cat. He was an interesting character to work with, never particularly friendly to keepers but undemanding.
Article from SMH from October 14, 1993 about Kutch the male crossbred Asiatic-African Lion (only ever displayed in Australia as being an Asiatic Lion) who killed his sister Kandi at Taronga Zoo four weeks after they arrived to live in the newly renovated exhibit that housed the zoo's Lions from September 1993-1999 (and later Sun Bears Mr Hobbs and Victoria, later rotated with the zoo's last Dholes).
'''' 14/10/93 VISITORS SEE LION MAUL AND KILL LIONESS writes Steve Offner:
An Asiatic lion, recently introduced to Taronga Zoo's big cats exhibition, savaged and killed a female companion while being watched by scores of horrified onlookers. According to one witness, the male, Kutch, grabbed and fought Kandi, one of two females, dragged her into the den and killed her. A person with close association with the zoo, who asked not to be named, said the lion choked the female "pretty much in typical fashion". "There were zoo attendants running all over the place, pumping darts into the lion, but they couldn't do any good," he said. The attack, which occurred during the school holidays and in front of a large crowd of visitors, is the first of its kind at the zoo. Kutch was transfered to Taronga from Western Plains Zoo four weeks ago. A spokeswoman for the zoo, Ms Darill Clements, said the lions, which were siblings, had lived together for many years. ''
"No-one is really sure why it happened, but we do know it happens in the wild and it has happened in other zoos," she said. A spokesman for the school of biological sciences at Macquarie University, Dr George McKay, said male lions had been known to attack and kill other lions in the wild."There have been documented instances where male lions have cornered and killed lionesses and certainly they often kill cubs," he said. ''''
'''' 14/10/93 VISITORS SEE LION MAUL AND KILL LIONESS writes Steve Offner:
An Asiatic lion, recently introduced to Taronga Zoo's big cats exhibition, savaged and killed a female companion while being watched by scores of horrified onlookers. According to one witness, the male, Kutch, grabbed and fought Kandi, one of two females, dragged her into the den and killed her. A person with close association with the zoo, who asked not to be named, said the lion choked the female "pretty much in typical fashion". "There were zoo attendants running all over the place, pumping darts into the lion, but they couldn't do any good," he said. The attack, which occurred during the school holidays and in front of a large crowd of visitors, is the first of its kind at the zoo. Kutch was transfered to Taronga from Western Plains Zoo four weeks ago. A spokeswoman for the zoo, Ms Darill Clements, said the lions, which were siblings, had lived together for many years. ''
"No-one is really sure why it happened, but we do know it happens in the wild and it has happened in other zoos," she said. A spokesman for the school of biological sciences at Macquarie University, Dr George McKay, said male lions had been known to attack and kill other lions in the wild."There have been documented instances where male lions have cornered and killed lionesses and certainly they often kill cubs," he said. ''''
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Thanks for sharing, Steve. Although not unheard of, it’s very unusual for a lion to kill a lioness that it’s cohabited with for years. Most fatalities occur in recently introduced pairs.
I’d guess the incident was sparked by stress - the lions had moved to a city zoo with bigger crowds and closer proximity to other apex predators.
Kutch and Kandi were born at Zoo Knoxville 01/07/1983. They arrived at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 04/06/1989 and were transferred to Taronga Zoo 31/08/1993. Kutch died 15/06/1999 at TWPZ.
The most recent incident of a lion killing a lioness at Taronga was in 2013, when Lazarus killed his mate at Dubbo. They’d been introduced the previous week.
Side Note: The 'Asiatic' Lions exhibit and the Sumatran Tigers exhibit (renovated former famous Lion pit built in 1935) that housed Seletan and Shiva the famous Tiger pair were both opened to the public on Friday 17 September 1993 as Stage II and Stage III of the zoo's 'Cats of Asia' project. The former Tiger pit (built 1939) directly to the west of the Lion pit was revamped firstly (with the viewing brought down to ground level viewable from the path to the south as mentioned previously by Hix on this site) was completed and publicly opened on 13 February 1992, firstly home to newly arrived Seletan and Taronga born male Shiva.
In September 1992 the arrival of Chester the White Tiger from Henry Doorly Zoo in the U.S (originally intended as a temporary loan) meant he was housed in that exhibit for several months and I'm unsure whether Seletan and Shiva were moved into the recently unoccupied 'Lion Pit' next door for a couple of months (architectural surveying for renovating the 'Lion Pit' into a permanent home for Seletan and Shiva was undertaken in December 1992) or whether they were moved back to their old cramped quarters in the small concrete pens - the other Tiger enclosures at the zoo (different from the 1939 Tiger Pit) which were 5 side by side concrete pens called the 'Big Cat House' (built sometime around 1964-1967) on the other side of the zoo where Shiva's younger brother Jambi was still living until his transfer to Auckland in December 1992.
Am fairly certain that Chester was temporarily living at Western Plain Zoo by early 1993 so am deducing Seletan & Shiva were back in the 'Feb 92 restored exhibit by January or February '93 for a short time as around this time is when work on the old 'Big Cat House' pens on the other side of the zoo commenced which turned them into the 'Jungle Cats' exhibits complex which publicly opened on 8 April 1993 housing Hari and Nugi the Asiatic Golden Cats, Fishing Cats (forgotten names of individuals) and for a time some Five-Lined Palm Squirrels, later Common Treeshrews in a smaller aviary like exhibit between the two cat exhibits (that specific complex now the Tasmanian Devil exhibits, ceased being 'Jungle Cats' complex in June/July 2008).
So am assuming Seletan and Shiva possibly were moved back into the February '92 completed westernmost 'Cats of Asia' exhibit if Chester the White Tiger was staying at Dubbo during the early-mid 1993 works being done on renovating for Seletan & Shiva's use the old Lion pit (with the same southside path ground level glass viewing touch that was done to the adjacent former Tiger pit) and also constructing the small Clouded Leopard exhibit between the new viewing path for the reconstructed pits, again on the southern path.
The 'Asiatic' Lion exhibit in the above-mentioned article was the home for many years of the zoo's Jaguars including melanistic Ali (who was later moved across the path from the Snow Leopards and Tahrs in the area later to become the Malayan Tapirs original exhibit in '96) though from what Hix has shared the Jaguars former exhibit(s) located on the spot they built the 'Asiatic' Lion exhibit, was a lot smaller during the Jaguars time (and possibly two exhibits side by side? and ground level viewing too possibly originally). But this exhibit was still viewed from the end of the 'African Waterhole' path.
Oh and I should have mentioned (sorry for most as you'd already clearly know but just for anyone interested who may not) obviously once the renovated old Lion pit had become the new home for Seletan & Shiva the Sumatran Tigers (who would successfully go on to have 4 surviving cubs from 2 litters while living in that exhibit) and the old Jaguar exhibit(s) had become the 'Asiatic' Lion exhibits, both by the aforementioned 17 Sep' '93 opening date, by that stage Chester the White Tiger would have been back living in the Feb' '92 renovated exhibit (former Tiger pit) again where he lived for the rest of the '90s with a few trips away to Dubbo and Perth.
A really nice lady who is one of Taronga's architectural heritage officers has emailed me several architectural concept maps/blueprints last year for the reconstruction of the old Tiger pens into the 'Jungle Cats' complex in '92/'93 and the same with the plans for the 'Cats of Asia' complex. If anyone would like me to email them just inbox me your email.
In September 1992 the arrival of Chester the White Tiger from Henry Doorly Zoo in the U.S (originally intended as a temporary loan) meant he was housed in that exhibit for several months and I'm unsure whether Seletan and Shiva were moved into the recently unoccupied 'Lion Pit' next door for a couple of months (architectural surveying for renovating the 'Lion Pit' into a permanent home for Seletan and Shiva was undertaken in December 1992) or whether they were moved back to their old cramped quarters in the small concrete pens - the other Tiger enclosures at the zoo (different from the 1939 Tiger Pit) which were 5 side by side concrete pens called the 'Big Cat House' (built sometime around 1964-1967) on the other side of the zoo where Shiva's younger brother Jambi was still living until his transfer to Auckland in December 1992.
Am fairly certain that Chester was temporarily living at Western Plain Zoo by early 1993 so am deducing Seletan & Shiva were back in the 'Feb 92 restored exhibit by January or February '93 for a short time as around this time is when work on the old 'Big Cat House' pens on the other side of the zoo commenced which turned them into the 'Jungle Cats' exhibits complex which publicly opened on 8 April 1993 housing Hari and Nugi the Asiatic Golden Cats, Fishing Cats (forgotten names of individuals) and for a time some Five-Lined Palm Squirrels, later Common Treeshrews in a smaller aviary like exhibit between the two cat exhibits (that specific complex now the Tasmanian Devil exhibits, ceased being 'Jungle Cats' complex in June/July 2008).
So am assuming Seletan and Shiva possibly were moved back into the February '92 completed westernmost 'Cats of Asia' exhibit if Chester the White Tiger was staying at Dubbo during the early-mid 1993 works being done on renovating for Seletan & Shiva's use the old Lion pit (with the same southside path ground level glass viewing touch that was done to the adjacent former Tiger pit) and also constructing the small Clouded Leopard exhibit between the new viewing path for the reconstructed pits, again on the southern path.
The 'Asiatic' Lion exhibit in the above-mentioned article was the home for many years of the zoo's Jaguars including melanistic Ali (who was later moved across the path from the Snow Leopards and Tahrs in the area later to become the Malayan Tapirs original exhibit in '96) though from what Hix has shared the Jaguars former exhibit(s) located on the spot they built the 'Asiatic' Lion exhibit, was a lot smaller during the Jaguars time (and possibly two exhibits side by side? and ground level viewing too possibly originally). But this exhibit was still viewed from the end of the 'African Waterhole' path.
Oh and I should have mentioned (sorry for most as you'd already clearly know but just for anyone interested who may not) obviously once the renovated old Lion pit had become the new home for Seletan & Shiva the Sumatran Tigers (who would successfully go on to have 4 surviving cubs from 2 litters while living in that exhibit) and the old Jaguar exhibit(s) had become the 'Asiatic' Lion exhibits, both by the aforementioned 17 Sep' '93 opening date, by that stage Chester the White Tiger would have been back living in the Feb' '92 renovated exhibit (former Tiger pit) again where he lived for the rest of the '90s with a few trips away to Dubbo and Perth.
A really nice lady who is one of Taronga's architectural heritage officers has emailed me several architectural concept maps/blueprints last year for the reconstruction of the old Tiger pens into the 'Jungle Cats' complex in '92/'93 and the same with the plans for the 'Cats of Asia' complex. If anyone would like me to email them just inbox me your email.
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