Jarrah, the elderly lioness at Werribee Open Range Zoo, was put to sleep yesterday at the age of 19. From the zoo's Facebook page:
Yesterday was a difficult day for keepers and vets at Werribee Open Range Zoo, who said a very sad goodbye to Jarrah the Lioness.

At age 19, she was a very elderly lion and had a number of age-related health issues, but nonetheless, she was strong and graceful until the end.

Born at Melbourne Zoo in 2000, Jarrah moved to her new home at Werribee Open Range Zoo when she was four, along with her mother Jespah and Aunty Gopah.

Majestic and charismatic her whole life, perhaps her most lasting legacy will be the memories of her stirring vocalisations, which will be missed, but never forgotten.

Thank you to all who admired and cared for Jarrah, either as a zoo keeper or from afar. Sleep well, Jarrah.
Zoos Victoria
 
Jarrah, the elderly lioness at Werribee Open Range Zoo, was put to sleep yesterday at the age of 19. From the zoo's Facebook page:

Zoos Victoria

The end of an era for Zoos Victoria. Jarrah (born 2000 at Melbourne Zoo) was at least third generation of her family to live at Zoo Victoria - stretching back to her grandmother, Juliana; and mother, Jespah (born 1990 at Melbourne Zoo). Unless Juliana was a founder, this family line may have gone back even further.

Jarrah’s family lives on in the region through her niece, Kiamba (born 2004 at Adelaide Zoo); and Kiamba’s offspring, Mlinzi and Makena (born 2013 at Monarto Zoo); as well as in the memories of the generations of zoo visitors they’ve inspired.
 
The end of an era for Zoos Victoria. Jarrah (born 2000 at Melbourne Zoo) was at least third generation of her family to live at Zoo Victoria - stretching back to her grandmother, Juliana; and mother, Jespah (born 1990 at Melbourne Zoo). Unless Juliana was a founder, this family line may have gone back even further.

Jarrah’s family lives on in the region through her niece, Kiamba (born 2004 at Adelaide Zoo); and Kiamba’s offspring, Mlinzi and Makena (born 2013 at Monarto Zoo); as well as in the memories of the generations of zoo visitors they’ve inspired.

How was Maalo, father of Kiamba, descended from Juliana?
 
How was Maalo, father of Kiamba, descended from Juliana?

Maalo was the grandson of Juliana. He and his littermate (Jasiri) were born at Melbourne Zoo in 1999 to one of Juliana's daughters. I'm not sure if his dam was Jespah or Gopah. Jespah produced Jarrah's litter (5.1 cubs) the following year, but not until December; so especially if Maalo was born early 1999, this would have been possible.
 
Monarto Zoo Lion Keeper Talk

Not really news, but I found this Keeper talk about some of Monarto Zoo’s Lions (Kashka, Kito, Kubwa, Nia, Husani, and Makena). It’s quite interesting to note that Kubwa is the dominant male of the three brothers. Makena was also cycling at the time (one week ago).

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Monarto Zoo Lion Keeper Talk

Not really news, but I found this Keeper talk about some of Monarto Zoo’s Lions (Kashka, Kito, Kubwa, Nia, Husani, and Makena). It’s quite interesting to note that Kubwa is the dominant male of the three brothers. Makena was also cycling at the time (one week ago).

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That means chances are high Kubwa sired the two litters with Husani and Nia. I’m not sure if they’d confirm this with a DNA test though, since them being full brothers makes paternity negligible. I’d be interested to know if Kubwa was the alpha male from the start. Tombo was the dominant male at Auckland Zoo, until the brothers turned five and the females were introduced. Tonyi assumed dominance and maintained it until their deaths.

It’ll be good if Makena breeds, as her line is marginally more valuable than the others. If not, her twin brother has recently gone into a breeding situation.
 
Billabong Zoo Snow Leopard Keeper Talk:

Billabong Zoo has released an update on their three ageing snow leopards: males Khumbu (aged 15) and Sabu (aged 13), and female Samarra (aged 18). It's not often the zoo posts an update on their snow leopards so it's good to see the three of them are still alive and well.

Source: Billabong Zoo's Facebook page

Billabong Zoo
 
Jahzara (2011-2018)

Unfortunately, Jahzara the lioness has passed away at Mogo Zoo. I suspected she had, as there had been almost no mention of her since her arrival in early 2018; and her intended mate, Baako, has since been paired with Chitwah - to produce Phoenix in December 2019.

I contacted Mogo Zoo, who sadly confirmed that she died of an unanticipated medical related cause not long after her arrival. They gave no further elaboration.

Jahzara was born at Monarto Zoo 03/05/2011. She was the first surviving offspring of Kiamba, who had a stillborn litter of cubs in 2007. Kiamba went on to produce a third litter of 1.1 in 2013. They are both in breeding situations. The male is at Taronga Western Plains Zoo; while the female remains at Monarto, where she will hopefully breed with one of their new males.

0.1 Kiamba (21/01/2004) Maalo x Amali/Yizi
0.1 Jahzara (03/05/2011) Leroy x Kiamba
1.0 Mlinzi (18/06/2013) Leroy x Kiamba
0.1 Makena (18/06/2013) Leroy x Kiamba

Kiamba and her two surviving offspring are now the only direct descendants of Juliana at Melbourne Zoo, whose granddaughter Jarrah died this month at Werribee Open Range Zoo.

Jahzara’s media debut: https://imgur.com/I1owx.jpg
 
Ballarat’s Plan to Breed Sumatran Tigers:

It was mentioned in a news article today about male Satu’s 15th birthday that Ballarat Wildlife Park has plans to breed from Satu and Maneki - arguably the most genetically valuable pair in the region. The relevant section from the article:
Ms Leonard said it was hoped that Satu and the park's female tiger Maneki would be allowed to mate in the future. The pair have already produced a cub together when they were in Queensland.
"We are waiting on approval ... there's a lot of paperwork," Ms Leonard said. "Being tigers you can't just have them together all year - they've got to be kept separate. But the sleep next to each other through the wire."
Birthday cheer for Ballarat Wildlife Park's teenage tiger Satu
 
Wild Cat Conservation Centre has imported a pair of five-month-old Clouded Leopards!! From the zoo's Facebook page:
We are so excited to announce the arrival of two Clouded Leopard to WCCC!

The 5-month-old cubs, Tai (male) and Cinta (female) are the only of their kind in the country.

The cubs are a part of an international breeding program for the vulnerable species. Our centre is the only zoological institution in Australia to be accepted as part of the international conservation program and studbook for Clouded Leopard, due to our high level of expertise and specific focus on wild cats!

The cubs will be joined by other leopards in the near future, to establish a breeding population and further our goal of conserving this and other incredible smaller wild cat species!
Wild Cat Conservation Centre
 
This is amazing news! I honestly thought the Sri Lankan leopard would be the only new cat species the region would be seeing for a long time to come. What will the WCCC amaze us with next? Jaguar? Temminck’s golden cat? #WishfulThinking

I can’t find a source on where they came from. This link says they came from a European Zoo (there 20 European holdings so that narrows it down): PressReader.com - Your favorite newspapers and magazines.

As far as I’m aware, these are the first Clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa since a pair was imported to Taronga Zoo from the USA in 1993. The male of which died at Taronga Zoo in 2005; and the female at Melbourne Zoo in 2008.
 
This is amazing news! I honestly thought the Sri Lankan leopard would be the only new cat species the region would be seeing for a long time to come. What will the WCCC amaze us with next? Jaguar? Temminck’s golden cat? #WishfulThinking

I can’t find a source on where they came from. This link says they came from a European Zoo (there 20 European holdings so that narrows it down): PressReader.com - Your favorite newspapers and magazines.

As far as I’m aware, these are the first Clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) since a pair was imported to Taronga Zoo from the USA in 1993. The male of which died at Taronga Zoo in 2005; and the female died at Melbourne Zoo in 2008.
This is so exciting!! Thanks @Zoofan15 , I will find out soon.
 
This is amazing news! I honestly thought the Sri Lankan leopard would be the only new cat species the region would be seeing for a long time to come. What will the WCCC amaze us with next? Jaguar? Temminck’s golden cat? #WishfulThinking

I can’t find a source on where they came from. This link says they came from a European Zoo (there 20 European holdings so that narrows it down): PressReader.com - Your favorite newspapers and magazines.

As far as I’m aware, these are the first Clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa since a pair was imported to Taronga Zoo from the USA in 1993. The male of which died at Taronga Zoo in 2005; and the female at Melbourne Zoo in 2008.
I would hope other zoos within the region also add them so we dont go down the same old old road as often happens before with such small numbers being held here
 
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Kura's brother is called Chadwick. I believe he's still alive (at Santa Barbara). They have/had some half siblings through the father as well. I've only included those that survived past 30 days

Male - born 15/4/1996. Transferred to Kansas City Zoo in November 1997
Female - born 15/4/1996. Transferred to Knoxville Zoo in October 1997

Female (Gingerbread) - born 15/5/1998. Transferred to Lee Richardson Zoo in Kansas during January 1999. Transferred from their to Santa Barbara Zoo in 2003. Died February 2017
Female - born 15/5/1998. Died at Indianapolis in July 1999

Male - born 8/7/2003. Transferred to Norfolk Zoo, Virginia in October 2004.
Female - born 8/7/2003. Transferred to Milwaukee Zoo in March 2005

For some reason it was decided to pair Chadwick and Gingerbread (half siblings) up for breeding at Santa Barbara. They went on to have two litters together

Tombo and Tonyi

Tombo and Tonyi were born at Philadelphia Zoo at 17th March 1996. They had a sister (I think she might have been a White Lion?) from the same litter. The three of them left Philadelphia on 31st October 1996 for Lowry Park Zoo. They then moved again in March 1997 to Columbus Zoo in Ohio. Finally Tombo and Tonyi departed from Columbus to Auckland in December 1997. Their sister went to Toronto. They're parents were both born at Johannesburg Zoo in South Africa during 1991

Studbook link below

http://alouattasen.weebly.com/uploads/8/9/5/6/8956452/lionafricanstudbook2012-dca7d0e1.pdf

Thanks for the info and links. Interesting stuff! I see Kura's first litter (born 2001) are listed in the studbook, but not her second. I'm guessing this is because her first litter have a North American born sire, while her second do not.

Do you know what Kura's original name is? It appears she was renamed by Auckland Zoo as were Tonyi (charmer) and Tombo (clover), considering the names of her siblings and half siblings.

I don't know where the name Kura came from but it's the Maori word for school so I'm guessing it reflected her role in teaching the hand raised lioness Sheeka how to be a lion?

Kura's twin brother, Chadwick, is indeed still alive and was mentioned last month in this article:

Ask the Zookeeper – Chadwick the Lion – Santa Barbara Family & Life Magazine

Not really Big Cats in Australasia News, but some news on Kura’s brother, Chadwick:

Chadwick, Kura’s brother, died in December 2019, at the age of 21, He was Santa Barbara’s last lion (as they currently don’t have any). It’s an impressive age for any lion, but especially for a male. There are some photos of him in the article and he looks quite like Kura.

Chadwick, the Santa Barbara Zoo’s Elderly Lion, Has Died
 
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Monarto Lion Cub Naming Competition:

Monarto Safari Park is running a naming competition for their four lion cubs. The zoo have come up with the following names for the females:

Zahara - flower
Chikondi - love
Adira - majestic
Ari - lion
Roho - spirit
Amara - strength


The zoo are also asking for members of the public to come up with a name for the male lion cub.
Competition: Help to name our lovely lion cubs - Monarto Safari Park
 
Some sad news from the Wild Cat Conservation Centre. Kian, their male Caracal kitten has unfortunately died due to lung problems. His female sibling Kora is still doing well. The regional population now stands at 1.6. From their Facebook page:
It has been a very sad few days here at the centre with Kian passing away earlier in the week. It was completely unexpected, and we are all devastated and heartbroken by the loss of our energetic little man.
Sadly, his lungs stopped working, which is near impossible to treat in such a small kitten. We did all that we could for him in his final hours, and made him comfortable, but his little body could not cope and he passed with a lot of love surrounding him.
Kaia and Kora are doing ok, we are giving them lots of extra attention and support during this difficult time.
We are so sad to share this news with everyone, as we know all our visitors and followers fall in love with our cats here just as much as we do. We are so grateful for the 10 amazing weeks we got to spend with Kian, filled with lots of love, zoomies and positive energy. Even though we only had such a short time with him, we loved every minute of his confident, clumsy, energetic character that we got to spend with him. Rest In Peace little man
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