Felids in Australasian Zoos – News, History and Discussion

tetrapod said:
Maybe something South American too? Jaguarundi and Ocelot have both been held previously.
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Yes totally, I feel like you are the champion of inspiring the revitalisation of more South American species in Aus Zoos as they really have been sidelined massively to a handful of species per zoo. I would think South America at least would fit into major zoos focus along with Tropical & Grasslands Africa and South-East Asia (sometimes Himalayas).

Personally I'd love to see Jaguars and Pumas return too along with Jaguarundis and Ocelots, but am also really at the point now of thinking their return is a distant dream. Would love to see perhaps some of the private zoos with their initiatives take and interest hopefully in some (if not all) of these four amazing species.

As it stands the most exciting thing in recent years is the arrival of the two Sri Lankan Leopards to Canberra. Am very much team: Sri Lankan Leopards project expanding, Clouded Leopards & Asiatic Golden Cats returning to the region, and maintaining the Snow Leopards in the region (love Cheetahs too but I dont think their place in the region is in jeopardy).
 
Zoofan15 said:
Jaguar would be top of my wish list of cat species to return to Australasian zoos, followed by Temminck’s golden cat.

The Jaguar, a large charismatic cat, would be the main attraction of any South American precinct and a huge drawcard. The melanism gene means that in the eyes of the average visitor (who call them panthers), you’re getting two cats for the price of one! There’s a large captive population in North American zoos, so sourcing them wouldn’t be an issue if the region chose to support it.

Temminck’s golden cat is more my personal preference. I’ll admit they hold little appeal for the average visitor; as like Fishing cats, they’re highly elusive and rarely seen. That said, they compliment the exhibition of the larger Sumatran tiger in any South East Asian precinct as another cat species.
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Totally agree with you about Jaguars, having Melanistic individuals in some of the zoos along with regular coated is a double plus. The regular coated Jaguars are strikingly beautiful enough on their own but having Melanistic ones with them will be double the awe, and also an educational tool, one example being for some people who still think Black Panthers are a seperate species of cat. And am one hundred percent with you about Asiatic Golden Cats (a personal favourite of mine). I find their loss to the region a massive tragedy.
 
steveroberts said:
Personally I'd love to see Jaguars and Pumas return too along with Jaguarundis and Ocelots, but am also really at the point now of thinking their return is a distant dream. Would love to see perhaps some of the private zoos with their initiatives take and interest hopefully in some (if not all) of these four amazing species.
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Agreed - we do still have one elderly puma left hanging on at Zambi Wildlife Retreat in Sydney. It's worth mentioning that there has been some interest to import pumas into Australia in recent times. From the document the following zoos are potentially interested:

Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment

Zambi Wildlife Retreat would like to provide co-habitation for the last puma in Australian captivity, along with the opportunity to exhibit both sexes of the species for education.... Interest has been shown to exhibit pumas from other Australian institutions, including Australia Zoo, Mogo Zoo, Shoalhaven Zoo, Wild Animal Encounters and Darling Downs Zoo.
 
Wow good on the team who run Zambi. Just saw the video of Kota's new exhibit from last year, she's so beautiful. Would love to visit next year or later this year. So thats kind of near where Bullens use to run the Animal World (the Lion Safari was Warragamba but there was another facility at Wallacia right). Glad the animals are in caring hands. Gotta say Kota stole my heart watching that video I hope she lives as long as possible. And hope to see her get a companion Puma and Mogo, Shoalhaven, WAE, DD and even Irwin's zoo get Pumas (Mogo having already had them in the 1990s, the three who were retired from Taronga in 1990/1991?)
 
Btw found part of an article earlier that said on the 9th June the female Clouded Leopard (Nonah i'm guessing) escaped from her enclosure during the night through a seven centimetre gap after one of the stainless steel refraining wires broke free and apparently Taronga had to close for several hours to capture her. I couldnt access the whole article but I wonder where they found her?
 
steveroberts said:
Btw found part of an article earlier that said on the 9th June the female Clouded Leopard (Nonah i'm guessing) escaped from her enclosure during the night through a seven centimetre gap after one of the stainless steel refraining wires broke free and apparently Taronga had to close for several hours to capture her. I couldnt access the whole article but I wonder where they found her?
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Great zoo escapes: confessions of a zookeeper - Australian Geographic


In 1990 Taronga’s new clouded leopard exhibit opened. It included a feature now commonplace in zoos: high tensile steel ‘piano wires’. Thin and incredibly strong, they allow an almost unimpeded view of the caged inhabitants.

On being moved to their new exhibit prior to its official opening, the clouded leopards assiduously inspected every inch of their new home. Unfortunately, one of the wires had broken loose from its spring-loaded base without anyone knowing. The loose strand was just enough to allow one of these beautiful endangered animals to escape into a nearby massive concrete structure, replete with ledges, outcrops and crevices that formed the outside walls of the old lion and bear pits.

Although it was normally an inhabitant of Asian forests, this particular leopard made itself at home among the artificial rocky surroundings. After a day spent feasting on the numerous pigeons roosting on the structure, the leopard was discovered fast asleep on a ledge by a keeper who followed a trail of feathers. It was anaesthetised without fuss and returned to the hastily repaired exhibit and its less adventurous mate.
 
with their newly built piano wire enclosure. The Clouded Leopards (as far as I know) lived at the middle enclosure in the 'Cats of Asia' exhibit (opened in two phases 1992 & 1993). I didnt remember the Clouded Leopards enclosure also having piano wire but obviously my memory is wrong. Thats very cute about curling up asleep after chasing pidgeons. Unless of course it was the female Snow Leopard who escaped and the SMH article mixed them up with Clouded Leopards (except Clouded Leopards are tropical and Snow Leopards alpine).
 
Zoofan15 said:
This could at least partly be behind the lack of interest in Snow leopards (vs Sri Lankan leopards). Melbourne Zoo’s power bill must be astronomical to keep them cool in summer.
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I'm not sure Melbourne's snow leopards would get much more than a basic air-conditioned den, making them not more expensive than cooling your lounge room on a hot day. At a guess there would be a large number of species with climate controlled dens.
 
The region has lost another cat species. Kota, Zambi Wildlife Retreat's (and the region's) only Puma passed away yesterday afternoon at the age of 19. From their Facebook page:
Our hearts break as another angel arrives in heaven.
Beautiful KOTA, passed away late yesterday afternoon.
As the sun set to a choir of roaring lions she was laid to rest in a garden in which she once walked .
In her 19 years of life she was constantly surrounded by love which she returned unconditionally to all who were lucky enough to have experienced her gentle soul.
Kota was a gift from nature who brought a shining light to the world, a light that will remain in all our hearts forever.
R.I.P. KOTA 9th February 2001 to 25th April 2020
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WhistlingKite24 said:
The region has lost another cat species. Kota, Zambi Wildlife Retreat's (and the region's) only Puma passed away yesterday afternoon at the age of 19. From their Facebook page:

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That’s one of the best tributes I’ve ever read by a zoo to one of their animals.

It’s sad to hear of the loss of yet another cat species in the region though:

Cat Species Lost Since 2008:

Tigon
Jaguar
Persian leopard
Clouded leopard
Puma
Temminck’s golden cat
Bobcat
Ocelot
Leopard cat

Generic leopard will likely be the next to go. There is now just a single male in the region (at Zion Wildfire Gardens).

Cat Species Gained Since 2008:

Sri Lankan leopard
Caracal
 
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Zoofan15 said:
That’s one of the best tributes I’ve ever read by a zoo to one of their animals.

It’s sad to hear of the loss of yet another cat species in the region though:

Cat Species Lost Since 2008:

Tigon
Jaguar
Persian leopard
Puma
Temminck’s golden cat
Bobcat
Ocelot
Leopard cat

Generic leopard will likely be the next to go. There is now just a single male in the region (at Zion Wildfire Gardens).

Cat Species Gained Since 2008:

Sri Lankan leopard
Caracal
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Also Clouded Leopard I believe?
 
Zoofan15 said:
That’s one of the best tributes I’ve ever read by a zoo to one of their animals.

It’s sad to hear of the loss of yet another cat species in the region though:

Cat Species Lost Since 2008:

Tigon
Jaguar
Persian leopard
Clouded leopard
Puma
Temminck’s golden cat
Bobcat
Ocelot
Leopard cat

Generic leopard will likely be the next to go. There is now just a single male in the region (at Zion Wildfire Gardens).

Cat Species Gained Since 2008:

Sri Lankan leopard
Caracal
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Tigon is not a species. Also Persian and Sri Lankan are sub species of the same species.
 
Zoofan15 said:
I think you’re missing/choosing to miss the point of the post.

FYI all three of those are mentioned as species lost from Australian zoo in this thread: Exotic Mammals in Australian Zoos
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No I understand the point of the post perfectly. And one inaccurate post does not justify another.
 
MRJ said:
No I understand the point of the post perfectly. And one inaccurate post does not justify another.
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Your nitpicking over a title says differently. Try taking things at face value. The title would look a little wordy with “Species, subspecies, generic hybrids and regulation hybrids lost from Australasian Zoos since 2008’ don’t you think? o_O

I would also consider the “inaccurate post” you allude to (in the Exotic Mammals in Australian Zoos thread) to be amongst the most valuable content in this forum. I and many others must refer to it countless times a year.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Your nitpicking over a title says differently. Try taking things at face value. The title would look a little wordy with “Species, subspecies, generic hybrids and regulation hybrids lost from Australasian Zoos since 2008’ don’t you think? o_O

I would also consider the “inaccurate post” you allude to (in the Exotic Mammals in Australian Zoos thread) to be amongst the most valuable content in this forum. I and many others must refer to it countless times a year.
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You could say “decline in Felid diversity in Australian zoos”.

Accuracy in language is important especially when using scientific terms.

Now you can help me. What is a “genetic hybrid” and a “regulation hybrid”?
 
One might also point out that while the addition of caracal and a leopard subspp is a minor step to readdressing the feline balance, both species were in the country previously (and pretty recently at that). It isn't like Australia is breaking the mould here.
 
Zoofan15 said:
That’s one of the best tributes I’ve ever read by a zoo to one of their animals.

It’s sad to hear of the loss of yet another cat species in the region though:

Cat Species Lost Since 2008:

Tigon
Jaguar
Persian leopard
Clouded leopard
Puma
Temminck’s golden cat
Bobcat
Ocelot
Leopard cat

Generic leopard will likely be the next to go. There is now just a single male in the region (at Zion Wildfire Gardens).

Cat Species Gained Since 2008:

Sri Lankan leopard
Caracal
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It was a very heartfelt tribute to Kota, she was one beautiful individual, you could really feel how much she must have been loved by the staff at Zambi. Hope she had a happy lifetime.
 
The Snow Leopard cubs (1.2) born in January 2020 at Melbourne Zoo have now been named.

1.0 Sikari - Nepali for hunter
0.1 Manju - Sanskrit for snow
0.1 Asha - Hindi for hope

From the zoo's Facebook page:
CUB NAME ANNOUNCEMENT Introducing Asha, Manju and Sikara!

The time has come to announce the Snow Leopard cub names, as voted by our Zoo Members and Snow Leopard Adopters!

The names put forward for voting were chosen by the keepers who love and care for the cubs everyday at Melbourne Zoo and originate from areas where Snow Leopards live in the wild. These names hold precious meanings that the cubs will wear with them forever. ❤
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