Yes I expect you are right.
Sumatran Tigers in Europe
- Thread starter Indlovu
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In fairness to ZSL, nobody cared for Melati more than her keepers and I don’t believe they would have put her in this situation out of negligence or disregard for her safety. I doubt they seriously believed it would go wrong or they wouldn’t have risked it.
HOWEVER, introducing tigers 10 days after one arrives at the zoo is unheard of in the Australasian region (which contains several world class zoos that have undertaken Sumatran tiger introductions). Introductions are undertaken over the course of multiple months (or even years) for a reason, not for the fun of it.
I’d say the most practical way forward is for the zoo (and every other zoo) to learn from the mistake, do a thorough investigation to determine WHY it went wrong, and then do everything they can to prevent a reoccurrence.
No doubt the keepers cared. That is in no way the question. How can you equate caring with evidence based knowledge? How the hell can a collection with 200 years of keeping carnivores lack the skill base to manage a tiger introduction? yes accidents happen but ffs they used to breed tigers in 12 foot circus wagons. they are really not super difficult. so do you think it was right to mix these cats after just over a week? The evidence clearly says otherwise!!
Yesterday, I spoke with a manager of PdF.
She told me they won't do that with Jae and Isha.
Isha is now in a box adjacent of Jae Jae's one.
Jae Jae is since yesterday allowed to go in the enclosure, and we really enjoyed to see him moving !
A great tiger, very calm and cool.
Hope all will be okay with Isha, who has a difficult character.
She told me they won't do that with Jae and Isha.
Isha is now in a box adjacent of Jae Jae's one.
Jae Jae is since yesterday allowed to go in the enclosure, and we really enjoyed to see him moving !
A great tiger, very calm and cool.
Hope all will be okay with Isha, who has a difficult character.
I think they rather did it on overconfidence.
I’m glad they won’t be rushing the introduction, though Isha is 13 this year so they can’t afford to take years. From what I’ve heard, Jae Jae is an exceptionally friendly and playful male. He enjoyed many years with Melati, videos show he was even with her when she gave birth.
Over confidence? Ignorance? Stupidity? Bad advice? Lack of ability? Doesnt really matter does it . Does anybody on this forum honestly think that 9 days is a suitable time for Sumatran tigers to be mixed?
It may not have been up to the animal staff anyway. There may have been pressure from the management, wishing to get the animals together as soon as possible. I know of at least one other botched introduction at ZSL(of a gorilla to an unrelated baby) where the animal staff were over-ruled in the decision. We don't know the politics involved...
I certainly don't... but possibly they were lulled into a sense of false security having had such a successful pairing previously with the bonded pair of JaeJae and Melati. Thought it would be easy this time too.
Yep good post. This has certainly happened before as you say. I had hoped that with the departure of certain senior management figures over the last 12 months or so this artogance would have changed but perhaps I was wrong.
My point is that they really shouldnt need to learn. They should know this stuff. It worries me that they have got a fairly basic thing like this wrong. Makes me worry what else may be going on that we are not privy to....
Everyone on this forum is here because we have an interest and fondness for zoo animals. This type of incident is just fuel for the anti zoo fires.
Well I saw it myself that it can be done so yeah, I do think it's suitable
And so you would recommend other collections to do this? If you were writing guidelines you would suggest mixing after 9 days as good practice? Or do you think maybe the example you quote was a one off ?
If I would be writing guidlines, I would never used a specific amount of time regarding introducing animals. There is some many factors coming into it, meaning you just can't pinpoint an exact number of days. Hell, if you bring the male in one day introduce him to the female through the bars and everything looks good, you can even try it at day 2 or 3 if you feel like it.
You think you can get a good idea of a cats temperament through the bars in two days?
You think you can get the idea in a month? You will never know the animal well enough...you might think you do but once you put the animals together, everything starts from the scratch, previous experience doesn't matter.
No news from the management atm...
We'll try to ask them next weekend.
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