Current tiger numbers released by the WWF

At the back end of Summer 2019 on World Tiger Day, the WWF released the latest numbers for wild tigers. In 2010, the numbers of wild tigers looked pretty bad, with numbers plummeting

over the last century due to wildlife poaching to meet the demand for the fur trade and for tiger bones for the Chinese oriental markets.

Current numbers back in 2010 were reported to be around 3,200 individuals situated from Russia to Sumatra to India. These numbers meant that subspecies such as the Amur and Sumatran tigers were at even fewer numbers, with both the previously mentioned subspecies being listed by the IUCN as endangered and critically endangered respectively. So what happened once these numbers were released? The WWF created a scheme to double tiger numbers by the year 2022, which is the next Chinese year of the tiger.

According to the WWF, the numbers of tigers living in India in 2014 were estimated to be around 2,200 compared to around 1,700 individuals previously accounted for in 2010. New statistics were coming in with great records, Russia's population of wild tigers increased in ten years between 2005 and 2015 with Bhutan and Nepal's numbers of tigers also on the up. One of the key factors in the increase of tiger populations was highlighting the important wildlife corridors which allow tigers to move between different habitats. Wildlife corridors link habitats between each other which allows

tigers to locate new prey and other tigers. These corridors are essential to allow tigers to breed with other tigers to keep the genepool genetically viable.

Habitat loss due to human activity and poaching are the main factors causing damage to tigers. India is home to around 1.324m according to a survey conducted in 2016 and it is growing, tigers are coming closer to humans and conflict often occurs. As previously mentioned, the Chinese medicine market continues to pose a threat to the survival of tigers, although no evidence supports the theory that tiger bones have magical powers, poaching still occurs for the trade.

So, on World Tiger Day 2019, the official number of wild tigers in India were...

… 2,967! This is a 33% increase from the 2010 report. Sadly, they're no pure-bred Indian or Bengal tigers currently kept in Europe. They're multiple hybrids, however, no current zoo in Europe hold pure-bred Bengal tigers.

This blog is a little different from my previous zoo visit tigers. I am aiming to widen my blogs to cover the science of tigers including their anatomy and evolution to what can be done to save the tiger. Next blog? Revisiting Flamingo Land and their trio of Sumatran tigers after I visited earlier this year in January.

Thanks again all,
Jordan!

Hamerton Zoo - my first Malayan tigers!

Howdy all,

It has been a very busy couple of months for me, our little baby is growing up really quick and having a full-time job and university has meant that this is my first blog since April. However, this will hopefully be the start of several blogs coming in the next few weeks, some focusing on wild tigers, too which is excited.

In late June, myself and Katelynne headed down to Hamerton Zoo, a place I adore as it is a splendid little collection which houses some lovely species. Small carnivores are a specialist at the collection with species such as tayra, Canadian lynx, oncilla, aardwolves and ringtail being present during the time of my visit. The park houses a large collection of South African cheetah as well as two pairs of tiger (yay). The two species present were a brother-sister pair of [white] Bengal tigers (hybrids of course) and the more exciting Malayan tigers.

Having missed Malayan tigers at Berlin Tierpark, I was determined to this species at some point this year. The exhibit itself was opened in 2015 when Sahaja and Cicip arrived at the park. The female, Sahaja was born on the 21st June 2013 at Halle Zoo in Germany whilst the male is genetically very important as Cicip was born on the 3rd May 2009 at Lok Kawi Wildlife Park in Malaysia. His parents were rescued from illegal wildlife traders, incidentally. Cicip was the tiger involved in the very sad incident with Rosa King back in 2017.

My initial first thought upon seeing a Malayan tiger was the fact that they're a lot darker than any other tiger I have ever seen. Cicip was the animal that I encountered first, he appeared from the back of the house into the pen where the viewing window was and it was clear to see how striking he was. Fantastic colours and a very large head, too!

At present, the pair are housed separately, their first introduction wasn't exactly a huge success lets just say! However, the pair are believed to be getting on better these days, I maybe wrong, however, I do not believe that Malayan tigers have bred yet successfully in the UK. The exhibit housing the pair is excellent, it is one huge paddock with multiple viewing windows, a small housing area is attached to the back of the house and situated between the paddock and the house. I didn't really have magnificent views of the pair as Sahaja had access to the main paddock, however, chose to stay in her holding area instead. This however, meant Cicip was restricted to his yard and house.

Hamerton as previously mentioned, do hold a pair of [hybrid] Bengal tigers, the pair are a brother-sister pair born at Hodenhagen Safari Park. Mohan and his sister Shiva were born on the 12th October 2012 and arrived in 2014, the one thing I do like about Hamerton is their acknowledgement and signage relating to the impurity of white tigers. Around the whites exhibit are several signage explaining how white tigers are not a conservation issue, which I liked a lot.

Being back at Hamerton Zoo in June was great, five years on from my first initial visit and the park has improved drastically. The place is only small, however, arguably one of the most promising collections in the country with a fantastic team behind them, acquiring some fantastic species along the way.

That is all for now, however, expect more blog within the next few weeks. I have one lined up regarding the latest census from India about their tiger populations and plans to double the tiger population by 2022.

Thanks all,
Jordan

Berlin Tierpark - lots of tigers!

Hello again all,

I must apologise for no blog in a few months, due to university, work and being a dad, the blog has not been kept up to date. However, that does mean I have lots of content ready to upload, starting with our trip to Berlin, which was incredible. We spent three days in Germany, visiting Berlin Zoo and their Aquarium, as well as a trip to the Tierpark. The entire Berlin collections blew my mind, with so many species in one place, from Southern gerenuk to Arabian striped hyena. We were accompanied on our Berlin quest by a German friend who was also our translator in parts and gave us a lovely tour of one of Europe's most iconic collections. Thankfully, Berlin Tierpark has a long history of breeding tigers, the zoo itself doesn't hold any tiger, but, this is made up by the Tierpark housing three different species of tiger, the Amur, Malayan and Sumatran.

The Sumatran tigers at Berlin Tierpark are actually extremely important with the adult pair, Harfan and Mayang were actually born in two zoos in Indonesia, where the Sumatran tiger originates from. The pair were imported on the 23rd December 2013, and this therefore makes them genetically important in the gene pool of the European population of Sumatran tigers. Harfan, the adult male was born in 2008, sadly, on our visit we didn't see him as the Alfred Bruhr house where the Tierparks cool species (Tigers, leopard, etc) were held, though, this was closed as the entire house is due for revamption and a new house is due to open in 2020. We did however, come across the female, Mayang who was born in 2011, she was accompanied by her four cubs, Kiara, Seri, Willi and Oscar, who were the first successful litter born to the pair on the 4th August 2018.

As previously mentioned, the Tierpark has a tremendous track record with their Sumatran tiger, they previously held Morris, a breeding male who had a lot of success with the females and died in January 2009 at the age of twenty-two. Morris sired several offspring including;

• Shakira - now at Paignton Zoo.
• Sarah - now deceased; died at Dudley Zoo.
• Alesha - now deceased; died at South Lakes Safari Zoo.
• Soroya - moved to Australia.
• Malea - now at Frankfurt Zoo.
• Raika - now deceased; died at Big Cat Sanctuary.
• Timophi - now deceased; died at Zoo Heidelberg. 
• Batu - now at Aalborg Zoo.
• Nias - now at Big Cat Sanctuary.
• Carlos - now at Stuttgart Zoo.

Morris, therefore, contributed significantly to the European population of Sumatran tiger. This can still be seen today with his grandchildren being housed right in-front of our eyes with tigers such as Daseep at Dudley Zoo and Lucu at Paignton Zoo. 

I enjoyed the big cat collection at Tierpark, though, I can understand why the upgrade is needed for the Alfred Bruhr house. Mayang, spent the day outside with her four cubs, who were marvellous to watch, enhancing their play behaviours and stalking mum whenever the opportunity came. As we arrived at the enclosure, the group had just been feeding, therefore, giving us the perfect opportunity to watch the cubs in their full glory. Mayang must be doing a grand job as having four enthusiastic cubs to rear is some task indeed. We headed back to the enclosure towards the end of the day to find the cubs still fascinated with each other and saw some fantastic interactions between the four of them and mum.

Berlin Tierpark also houses Amur and Malayan tigers as previously mentioned, these two species of tiger rotate their outdoor enclosure. I have never actually seen a Malayan tiger, so I was desperate to see one and did I? You're damn right, I didn't. The Malayan tigers, Tarek and Sarai were actually off-show that day and were not rotated with the adult pair of Amur tigers, sadly. I was so close to seeing a Malayan tiger, yet, so far! 

To make it for my disappointment of not seeing any Malayan tigers, we spent a large portion of our time with the Amur tigers. The Tierpark has a breeding pair, Darius and Aurora, who have had litters in 2014 and 2015, one tiger from this litter, Alisha was born on 10th December 2014 now lives at Dartmoor Zoo with Dragan (Born on 7th October 2014 at Eberswalde to Eva and Festus). 

Darius, is a typical male Amur tiger, with a large head and big shoulders. He instantly stood out to me as a very nice looking tiger, Aurora was obviously smaller and more petite. The pair were not as active as the Sumatran family next door, but, as the evening started to draw nearer, the duo became more active to which, Darius started stalking myself and Katelynne. 

Berlin overall, was a huge success, aside from the disappointment of not seeing the Malayan tigers among a few other species (echidna and Javan leopard) but, this just means we must return to Berlin in the future once their new tropical hall house has been built to see the previously missed species. 

That is all for now folks, I have quite a few blogs coming up so do indeed stay tuned!

Thanks again,

Jordan

Cinta and Kumbuh - the tiger siblings!

Back again! We are getting good at these blogs things, aren't we?

Anyhow, myself and Katelynne spent our first Valentine's Day at South Lakes Safari Zoo in Dalton, home to a sibling pair of Sumatran tiger, Kumbah and Cinta. The pair were French born at Doue la Fontaine Zoo to Kiara and Bintang, who was born at Paignton Zoo on 5th February 2009 to Banda and Tenang. The duo arrived in 2016 to join another two females, one of which was the pair's older siblings. On my visit in 2017, South Lakes Safari Zoo then held one male and three female Sumatran tigers.

The tiger enclosure at the collection is known as the Way Kambas tiger reserve, the enclosure previously held another pair named Padang and Alesha. Padang was born at Dudley Zoo to their infamous pair Sarah and Filon, whilst Alesha was born at Berlin Tierpark to Santana and Morris. The pair died in recent years with Padang euthanised in 2016 due to age-related problems whist Alesha sadly passed away when she choked on a piece of meat in 2013.

During previous visits, the enclosure that holds the pair of tiger hid them extremely well and in my opinion, is one of the best enclosures within the UK. It features hidden foliage and open grassland which allows a good mixture for the cats to hide but, also to be out on-show to the public, if they deemed so. We spent a good amount of time watching the pair, Kumbah was outside for the vast majority of the day, however, his sister didn't make an appearance until later in the afternoon.

Kumbah is a typical male, big in size with a large head making him easily identifiable, the duo interacted numerous times with no tension being displayed. According to a chat with a keeper, the current plan according to the EEP is to hold the pair as a non-breeding duo, although plans can always change. Cinta is probably the most common name for a tiger in captivity, South Lakes' female is a small individual with beautiful facial markings. 

The pair in the afternoon were extremely active and sat in and around their pool - Cinta seems like a very feisty female after snarling towards members of the public and Kumbah. She did however start to prusten (chuff) towards us at the end of the day. This as mentioned before was the most that I have seen them since they arrived at the park in 2016. 

Another blog up for you all to see again - I have some ideas for more blogs coming up regarding tigers in captivity and the discovery of Royal Bengal tigers living in and around Asiatic lions.

Thanks again,
Jordan


 

Melati; 2008-2019

Hello all,

This post as the title suggests, is not one that I wanted to post, however, such is the case - Melati the Sumatran tigeress at ZSL London Zoo has died after her introduction to new male, Asim went horribly wrong. Asim only arrived in late January from Ree Park in Denmark, though, this morning (08/02/19) introductions with resident female at ZSL London Zoo, Melati ended in awful circumstances.

Asim has bred with a female before, however, he has shown an aggression towards a female in the past, which resulted in him being moved from Heidelberg Zoo in Germany to Ree Park in Denmark. A sad day for the staff down at ZSL London Zoo, though, a constant reminder at just how unpredictable tigers are. The introductions from the release from ZSL London state that before the introduction, the pair were looking promising.

Melati arrived in late September 2012 from Perth Zoo in Australia and was quickly joined by the handsome Jae Jae from America and the pair quickly produced a single cub, which sadly drowned when Melati came outside with her cub very early on and the pool was not drained. Though, it should be noted that first time mothers producing single cubs often do not rear them successfully.

On the 3rd February 2014, ZSL London Zoo welcomed the arrival of three healthy Sumatran tiger cubs. Two boys, Budi and Nakal were joined by their sister, Cinta to parents, Melati and Jae Jae. Melati did a very good job of rearing her cubs and the two boys now live in Wales and Bewdley, though, when I was last at West Midlands Safari Park in 2016, Budi was bloody terrified of Hujan! Hopefully with growth and maturity, he has since put her in her place.

In February 2016, Melati and Jae Jae successfully welcomed two more cubs to their bloodline in the form of Achilles and Karis. The duo again were raised by their two fantastic parents and moved to Howletts Wild Animal Park and Heidelberg Zoo respectively.

Melati was a stunning tiger with a very beautiful face with stunning markings, her legacy lives on through her five cubs. ZSL London Zoo had very bad luck throughout the years with their tigers, with this setback, hopefully, that is all it is and they will continue with their breeding success and working with these awesome cats in both in-situ and ex-situ.

Thanks for the read again folks - three blogs up this year already. I do hope to provide more blogs conservation wise as well as the captive side.

See you all soon!
Jordan

Jae Jae on the move!

ZSL London Zoo's adult male Sumatran tiger 'Jae Jae' has left the collection to move to France at the Europe's biggest big cat sanctuary, Le Parc des Felines. The move has been heavily reported over the past few weeks and took place in the last few days. Le Parc des Felines currently houses Amur, Malayan and Sumatran tiger as well as those dreaded white tigers and 'Jae Jae' is heading over to France to join resident female, Isha. Isha arrived at the collection in 2012 from Taronga making her very genetically important to the European genetic gene pool.

The duo were at the time, one of, if not thee most important pairing in Europe at the time, the pair both arrived in late September 2012. 'Jae Jae' was born on 6th March 2008 at San Francisco Zoo to Leanne and George, whilst 'Melati' was born on 3rd August 2008 at Perth Zoo to Setia and Hari. During their time together at ZSL London Zoo they have produced five cubs, Achilles, Budi, Cinta, Karis and Nakal. All of which have now since moved onto collections in the UK such as Howletts Wild Animal Park and Welsh Mountain Zoo.

ZSL London Zoo's new male, Asim was born on the 5th May 2011 at Frankfurt Zoo to Malea and Iban, he was in a litter of two with his brother, Taru. Asim has been around, having moved to Heidelberg Zoo and then to Ree Park in January 2015. He actually left his home at Heidelberg due to his aggression shown to their female, Tila who was born at Chester Zoo. Asim joined Gasha at Ree Park and successfully bred, having had three litters, although not have been successful. Asim joins ZSL London Zoo to pair with Melati who herself has bred three times, again not all have been successful.

Myself and my fianceé are planning on a visit to ZSL London Zoo in October for my twenty second birthday so hopefully I get to see the new fella in the capital. He is a lovely looking colour and extremely striking with his facial markings and as such, I am really looking forward to seeing him in all his glory!

Bawa, Menya and Surya - Malton's family of tigers...

Hello again!

It's been a while, though, through very busy times with the arrival of our daughter, university, work and now also work experience through Blackpool Zoo, I am extremely busy! However, I have managed to visit three collections this month, Blackpool Zoo, Manchester Museum and most recently, Flamingo Land on 18th January. Flamingo Land holds a special place in my heart as I have fond memories of being there as a small child and seeing my first polar bear, Mandy.

The collection currently house Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae) which they have held since 2010. At the moment, Flamingo Land have three Sumatran tigers, one male, Bawa and two females, Surya and Menya. Bawa was born at the Big Cat Sanctuary, formerly known as Wildlife Heritage Foundation in Kent on the 27th July 2008 with his brother, Asu. The brothers were the first of two litters for parents, Puna and Nias. Bawa arrived on the 2nd September 2010 as the first Sumatran tiger at Flamingo Land. Surya arrived five days later from Paignton Zoo where she was born on the 5th February 2009 in a litter of four to second-time parents, Banda and Tenang. Bawa and Surya have produced four successful cubs, Bulan, Kuasa, Mentari and now, Menya who was born on the 22nd August 2017.

I last visited Flamingo Land in February 2018 when Menya was still relatively small, however, on this visit her increase in size was quite obvious. She looked very similar to her mother, Surya and on first glance I had to double check it wasn't the same individual. The weather at Flamingo Land was cold, but it was sunny and as such, the collection was virtually empty. I spent the majority of my day watching the family who were more active on this visit than on the previous one. Surya and Bawa spent a lot of time together, head rubbing and chuffing (Prusten) towards each other. Menya spent a lot of the time I was there on her own, with occasional interactions with her parents. Young tigers start to spend more time alone and away from their parents when they reach around a year old.

Flamingo Land have two enclosures for their tigers, the trio had access to both of them on my visit. In previous years, the park has housed European lynx and Amur tiger in these enclosures. I really like the tiger setup at the park, if and when the time comes when Menya is no longer able to be housed with her parents, the option is there for a huge paddock for her to be housed separately. Bawa is such a splendid looking male with such dark colours whereas Surya is rather fluffier IMO and looks more at home in the Yorkshire winter air.

Thanks for the read again folks,
Hope to provide more in 2019!
Jordan