San Diego Zoo San Diego Zoo News 2017
- Thread starter Coelacanth18
- Start date
I remember hearing about one or two black Amur leopards in Europe (which quite surprised me as I did not know the Amur race could be black). I did not know there was one in the USA so either I forgot about snowleopard posting it (link above) or I never saw that photo. Thankfully I am a member of San Diego and can do an overnight drive there on almost any of my days off, so I will see it (assuming it does not pass away before I get there).
A tiger cub seized at the border after being smuggled from Mexico is being cared for by the zoo and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:Bengal tiger cub confiscated from car at border crossing
Is that a true Benal tiger, and not just the usual zoo-mix bengals?
it will be the standard generic private tiger.
Several years ago the zoo received a white tiger under the same circumstances. It was presumed to come from the owner of the Tijuana Greyhound Track who owns lots of big cats, some of which are on display on the lawn of the track. This cub may or may not be from the same source.
That was my initial thought. But then decided it would probably be a zoo-mix.
Any reason why they're constantly referred to as 'bengals'?
Two reasons IMO, one of which most forum members will agree with and the second some will disagree with.
The first is that the owners of these cats refer to them as Bengal and the media just reports what they say. I mean, do you think a writer doing a quick fluff piece like this will really take the time to investigate the taxonomy of tigers and the history of captive breeding?
The second is that they are a very high percentage Bengal (or Indian as I call them). The percentage is so high in most that I personally would feel comfortable calling them Indian tigerrs. They have a tiny amount of Siberian (aka Amur) mixed in, but IMO it is too small to be concerned about. A researcher (whose name escapes me at the moment, but I know it has a PhD with it) has taken DNA samples from both white and orange tigers in the USA - those that critics such as AZA refer to as hybrid - and found that most are for all intents and purposes true Bengal/Indian tigers.
yeah, you're going to have to come up with an actual source to back that up. Not saying it is necessarily incorrect, but "someone with a PhD whose name I can't remember says they are Bengal" isn't even remotely enough.
A post from San Diego Zoo's Tumblr says Madagascan Forest is going to open this weekend.
— A new area of Africa Rocks is opening this...
— A new area of Africa Rocks is opening this...
Those fast moving and oversaturated graphics on the Tumblr link hurt my eyes. I mean seriously it is impossible to look at for more than a couple seconds (and makes me want to stay away from the zoo, not visit it). Who thought this was a good idea?
The same Marketing department that does all the fantastic zoo exhibit signage.
That is pretty horrible indeed...
zoos nowadays are marketed mainly at kids. It's just the way of the world. And today's kids are all on drugs.
Wouldn't that mean the graphics would have to be extra bland to even it out 
The actual commercials on YouTube aren't nearly as bad as the tumblr gifs are. I personally like the marketing campaign because of just how creative it is, especially with the animation. The animation is top notch, and I really like the various styles they use. Stopmotion, hand-drawn, computer animation, etc.. I understand there are personal tastes and all, but that's just my take on this campaign. They had to find a way to introduce Gelada baboons and Bee eaters (to name a few) in a creative way, and this style just lends itself to a creative campaign. I'd be interested to hear what other people think.
Is the honey badger part of the Madagascan Forest or the African Woods? I was assuming it would be the woods but everywhere seems to be advertising them as part of the Madagascar section. (And unless I've been sorely mistaken the past 17 years, they don't live there...right?)