The Colchester female referred to was born at Linton, whose pair had several litters before it was discovered their male was not pure Amur. I seem to remember this only came to light when one of his siblings was tested for the EEP in a german zoo!
Has it become a requirement to genetically test all tigers or is it still down to individual zoos participating in EEPs to do so? It seems such a wasted effort in one way, all because breeding animals weren't tested before having cubs.
The only pure Sumatran that Thrigby now have is a female who they took from Dublin in 2005
Do you know anything about this animal? I can't remember ISIS showing more than one Sumatran at Thrigby for many years. I'm surprised she would have been sent to join a hybrid male unless genetically over-represented or unable to breed.
However my view on hybrids (generally tigers) is also a bit different, I think it's hard to be so precious about it, when we are running out of individuals all together.
I think in captivity it really doesn't matter to me if a tiger is 'generic', as long as it is able to play an effective conservation (fund-raising) and educational role. I'm thinking particularly of the Isle of Wight Zoo, I love what that place has become. However,
in situ I think its down to what the range countries want ultimately. I'd imagine a small but well-managed pool of Sumatran tigers might more desirable to Indonesia in a few decades if the wild population becomes extinct, rather than some generic animals. I wonder what officials and wildlife managers in India think of the hybrid tigers already in at least one reserve.
As for lions, noone really questions the recent exhibit at Whipsnade, or the continued breeding at safari parks. I rarely hear anyone on here complaining that safari parks should switch to Indian lions, so I think there's enough of a general acceptance of generic African lions to warrant a small group of dedicated zoos pursuing the selective breeding of modern-day altas (barbary) analogues, should this one day become useful to the range countries in North Africa. I do wonder, though, if there is really ever is political will to reintroduce an extinct large carnivore (the UK has no leg to stand on in this respect), I'm sure translocated pure sub-saharan lions would be the easiest option and more likely.
Given that a number of well-respected zoos are subscribing to the legend of the barbary lion, its a real shame they don't actually try and exhibit them in any way that makes them appear distinct from regular 'African' lions. I would be excited to see them alongside red deer, barbary macaques, and barbary sheep, even Syrian brown bears, at least the context would be to show a range of species which represent closely those that used to inhabit the Atlas mountains.
They're a brother-sister pairing. The male is castrated he has no mane. Hence the reason you thought he was a female.
