Perth Zoo Sumatran Tiger Enclosures (formerly 'Great Cats')

" Chlidonias said:
I have spent a bit of time digging around in old annual reports, old online newspapers, etc, and have come up with some more information.

At the time of the Alma Park leopard's death (in 2001) there were only six Persian leopards left in the country - three at Perth (1.2) and three at Adelaide (1.2) - so Pussy must have been a regular zoo-mix leopard.

The three at Perth were a father and his two daughters. The two females were sent to Crocodylus in 2001 and the male followed in 2002. Their enclosure space at Perth was used for Sumatran tigers because there was no longer a regional programme for Persian leopards.

The one at Melbourne which died in 2013 must have been one of the Adelaide females.

The original Persian leopards in Australia were 1.2 siblings bred at Cincinnati Zoo (USA) in November 1980 and sent to Adelaide. As far as I can find, no others were imported, which if so means that all the Australian ones were bred from a sibling group. ''


My last query about when the three Persians at Crocodylus died was in part answered by how the last female there died 2008 so would have to of been either Ishtar or Tiamat and Fury would have obviously died before that.

But this information thanks to Chlidonias would appear to indicate that Fury was born to siblings?? and that Princess was in fact his double Aunt??? could this be true. Im quite extremely naive to the ways of captive breeding with new bloodlines, genes etc so since joining this site and reading lots of info shared by members im quite surprised by some of the realities around animals born as the product of inbreeding sometimes multiple times?? are/were the Melbourne Persians related/offspring aswell to this Cincinnati family?
 
are/were the Melbourne Persians related/offspring aswell to this Cincinnati family?
I later discovered that only one pair of siblings (male and female) came from Cincinnati (not 1.2 as was being reported in the newspapers), and Adelaide already had one female when they arrived. I don't know of any others, so it is likely (but do not take it as a definite) that all the resulting Persians in Australia were from those animals alone.
 
Oh ok thanks. Sounds like Princess may have still been Fury's paternal Aunt if she came as a sibling with her brother from Cincinnati.
 
btw do you think the unfortunate death of the mother female Persian Leopard from the male was the reason that there was an enclosure that Calang the Tiger could move into when he arrived in 92 (and the old Hybrid female did not need to be rehoused upon Calang's arrival or something else)
No. PZ held a female Black leopard which was moved to Whyalla WP (I think) at around the same time that Calang was brought in. I would imagine that the 4 Persians were rotated between either a) the one exhibit and the off-display holding pen at the rear of the exhibit, or more probably b) the black leopard rotated with sibling pair in one exhibit with Fury and Princess rotated in the other (the two inner exhibits were smaller than the outer ones). The old female generic tiger would have been in the LHS exhibit.
 
*much of this info already mentioned in this thread, this a 40 years acknowledgement post

These exhibits and complex been standing and in use (for Tigers) now for 40 years since ten days ago (17 November 1984 opened as 'Great Cats').

Has had (African) Lion birth just over a year after opening (male Alistair in January 1986 and lived 21 years, at zoo, 12 and a half in the southmost of the exhibits in this complex, he may of had littermates but no knowledge of unfortunately, he was only one to remain at the zoo). Persian Leopards twin female births in January 1987 (Ishtar & Tiamat who went on to live in the exhibits for another 14 and half years before moving to Darwin). Sumatran Tiger births in 2000 and 2008.

Initially was home to (mixed origin) Tigers 0.2 Anitraz & Delores, African Lions, Persian Leopards Fury & Princess and until January 1994 a melanistic female Leopard (mixed or unaccounted for subspecies origin, but her origin was Melbourne Zoo but her name do not know sadly, she went to Gorge in Jan' '94). From January 1994 the first Sumatran Tiger arrived 1.0 Calang from Melbourne, joined by Malu 0.1 from Wellington via Auckland in 1999 (the parents of the 2000 born triplets). The exhibits complex has also been home at times to Chester (b 06/1983 - d 11/2000) the white-coated Bengal-Siberian cross Tiger for three months late '95-early '96, Sean the Sun Bear in his final years at the zoo ('02-'04), two sister African Hunting Dogs 0.2 Scar and Halfear from 1999-2002 (then off display until 2004, think they passed before the new Hunting Dog exhibit was opened in March 2005).

The complex (and the zoo) has been home to Sumatran Tigers for 31 years come late this next January and (the complex) exclusively for Sumatran Tigers for ≈20 years now (African Lion trio Alistair, Mafuta & Manzi moved to exhibit in Savannah precinct in September 1998, Persian Leopards Ishtar & Tiamat left in 2001 for Crocodylus Park & their sire Fury same destination in 2002, Sean the Sun Bear left May 2004 for Wellington and Hunting Dog sisters passed away around this time 20 years ago); and has been home to at least 11 Sumatran Tigers in that time (and 14 Tigers over 40 years when including Anitraz & Delores and Chester) 7 of the Sumatran Tigers born at the zoo in the exhibits' dens. Currently home only to 16 year old 1.0 Jaya (who appears to have roam of all four of the public-display exhibtis within the complex now with access tunnels built between) who was born at the zoo in August 2008 to 0.1 Setia (herself born at the zoo in September 2000 but euthanised in early August 2016 sadly because of cancer) and sired by 1.0 Hari (originally from London Zoo, now deceased too). Jaya has lived alone at the zoo (being a solitary species by nature he's fine) for a few years now.

Jaya in 2017 (source:Perth Zoo cats have roaring good birthday)

2ckI1AG.jpg



Sumatran Tiger exhibit complex circled (source Google Earth/Maps)
2ckzeQp.jpg
 
Last edited:
Info from a close encounter a bit back..... As you can see in the image above posted by Steve, there are two grey buildings in line with the two viewing bays.... Jaya currently lives in the one closest to the main lawn... But the one near the Gibbons previously housed Dumai but they each have 4 separate cages per building apparently some of the cages had'nt been used since the lions as Setia Dumai and Jaya only needed one each. Sometimes they let Jaya into Dumai's or the old lions cages just for a bit of enrichment but they are really worn out as they don't clean them nor have air conditiong so its usually only for a short time. And when Setia was alive... Dumai was housed by himself on Gibbon side building whilst Jaya and Setia were housed on the Main lawn building closest building. Sorry, for clarification, main lawn building is the top one and gibbon is the bottom one in terms of how it is placed in the image above :)
 
Back
Top