Tiger Tracks!

Hello again!

So yesterday, the 10th October 2016, I visited Edinburgh Zoo, a collection which I have a great love for despite a few negativities in recent years. A lot of species have left the collection since 2010 including Amur leopard, jaguar, clouded leopard, Asiatic golden cat, wolverine, Andean cock-of-the-rock, maned wolf and Eastern kiang to name a few. Despite the departure of such magnificent species, the zoo has maintained its uniqueness with a lot of bizarre animals.

The departure of the felids in particular is linked in with their new opening of Tiger Tracks. Edinburgh Zoo had a row of enclosures which was collectively known as the big cat row, these were since closed down in 2012/13 from memory, though, that could be a lot wrong. However, at the top of that row was their Sumatran tiger pair, 'Jambi' and 'Baginda'. Their exhibit has housed Amur tigers in the past, the original Amur tigers at Highland Wildlife Park (The sister collection to Edinburgh Zoo) the enclosure held 'Yuri' who was the male born at Duisburg Zoo and the female, Sasha who was genetically important as she was born at Moscow Zoo. Up until 2010, Edinburgh Zoo housed Amur tigers until they received their first ever Sumatran tigers. A brother-sister pairing, 'Chandra' and 'Tibor' who were born 16th July 2007 at Hedelberg Zoo to 'Kim' and 'Sabu'. They arrived in 2010, however, shortly after their arrival, Chandra was moved to Champrepus Zoo in 2011. Since her move to Champrepus Zoo she has had three cubs with their male, 'Oscar'. The first cub which 'Chandra' gave birth to was 'Douga' a young female who now lives in Ireland and Fota Wildlife Park, from numerous reports I've heard about' Douga' she is believed to be quite a feisty female. The other two cubs are two males born on the 16th February 2013. 'Dhjala' (Who now lives in Augsburg Zoo) and his brother, 'Argo' were the second litter to be born to 'Chandra'.

Just going back to 'Tibor' when he was at Edinburgh, about six months after he arrived, he had to have an operation to have a cataract (I think that's what it was!) removed from his eye, which resulted in his eye being removed. So, unfortunately, 'Tibor' only has on eye. He now lives in Barcelona with a female named 'Pertama' who was born in 2005. From various sources, I believe the pair have now accepted its each others presence, shall we say?

Edinburgh Zoo's current pair, 'Jambi' and 'Baginda' have been introduced quite a lot and from numerous reports that I've heard, they're doing excellent together with lots of flirtatious behaviour from the female and a lot of mating. 'Baginda' was paired with 'Tibor' before, but, they had no success, she arrived on the 28th May 2011 and 'Tibor' left in the Summer of 2015. He moved to Barcelona Zoo and 'Jambi' arrived from Berlin Tierpark on the 30th July 2015. If they do breed, these cubs will be the first ever Sumatran tiger cubs to be born at Edinburgh Zoo and I believe in Scotland. I never had the opportunity to see 'Sarah' and 'Filon' who are the parents of 'Jambi', but, I have seen 'Padang' (The male at South Lakes Safari Zoo who was sadly euthanised in 2016) who was born in the same litter as 'Jambi' in 2002. They look identical, for a moment, I thought I was seeing 'Padang' all over again. The Dudley Zoo tiger line interests me quite a lot, because, the litters produced from their pair have now gone all over Europe.

'Baginda' was born on the 6th April 2003 at Dortmund Zoo to 'Rachka' and 'Ankor', I actually had the opportunity to see 'Baginda' in her previous home, Terra Natura Benidorm in 2009 and 2011. She lived with her sister from the same litter, 'Baghagia' who unfortunately died in 2014/15. Terra Natura Benidorm were none-breeding holders for the studbook up until 'Baghagia' passed. After that, they imported a young male, 'Vanni' who was born in May 2010 at Rotterdam Zoo to 'Alia' and 'Hermes', he was joined in December/January time by a female named 'Keisha' who was born at Krefeld Zoo on the 28th March 2012 to 'Sutera' and 'Beludru'. She moved to the UK in the same shipment as her brother, 'Joao' who moved to Dudley Zoo and 'Keisha' and her sister, 'Kinnara' moved to Welsh Mountain Zoo where they lived with a hybrid male 'Flynn/Bryn' until he passed away last year.

I spent most of my day at the Tiger Tracks yesterday and I was extremely impressed. Particularly with the signage efforts, from my point of view, Edinburgh Zoo has taken extreme detail into account when creating their signage. The detail notes about the dangers that current Sumatran tigers are facing, it notes their home land and the difference in their habitat. Such as the farm lands, the roads and the rainforest. Something which I was particularly thrilled with was the addition of a new tiger house! Their old house was a little run down, let's just say. The signage also had some rather nice examples of the sizes of tigers, which is educational for children which is extremely important! The tigers themselves? Well, 'Jambi' was a sleep for most of the day, which is typical. 'Baginda' was a little more active, displaying some pacing behaviour, but, she spent a lot of her time towards the time of the enclosure trying to get towards the new house where 'Jambi' was. The enclosure for Tiger Tracks is good, the one thing I would have like to have seen added/changed, would be the addition of a slide system and fencing near the entry of the tiger outside enclosure. It would make for a very nice little nursery if/when 'Baginda' produces cubs.

I have another blog coming up before Friday, I think! It's from my visit to Blackpool a few weeks back and it'll be about a day in the life of an Amur tiger, 'Alyona' and 'Zambar' style!

Thanks all for the support,
Jordan.

West Mid's trip!

Back again...

On the 19th September 2016, we headed down to West Mid's Safari Park as it had been a collection that I wanted to get back to since 2009 when I visited for the only other time. A lot of things had changed from my visit, although some things never change!

Since my last visit in 2009, WMSP acquired a pure-bred pair of Sumatran tigers which was a lovely addition to the park and it's even better as it is another holder in Europe willing to take on Sumatrans! In 2011, a female named 'Hujan' arrived from Arnhem Zoo in the Netherlands. She was born on the 14th September 2006 at Chessington World of Adventures where she was apart of the trio of sisters born to then first time mother, 'Ratna'. Her two sisters, 'Bayu' and 'Deru' also headed to Arnhem Zoo with her in 2008 as Arnhem became holders of Sumatrans to gain husbandry experience with the species. In 2011, Arnhem were selected to receive a new pair, which featured 'Aryo' the male born at Paignton Zoo as part of their litter of four in 2009. The female which arrived was 'Jarum' born in 2008 herself at Krefeld Zoo to 'Sutera' and 'Beludru'. As a result of a new pairing, the three sisters, 'Bayu', 'Deru' and 'Hujan' were all shipped off to different collections. Both sisters headed off to Japan, 'Bayu' moved to Yagiyama Zoo and 'Deru' moved to Yokohoma Zoo. Unfortunately, one of the females has since died, unknown reason and it is unclear which female has passed.

Back onto WMSP, after 'Hujan' had arrived, in the same year, 'Emas' arrived from Dublin Zoo, he was born on the 29th May 2009 to 'Sigra' (Born at Heidelberg Zoo in 2000) and 'Kepala' (Born at Dublin Zoo in 2005). 'Emas' was in a litter of two with his sister, 'Wanita' who now lives in France. At birth, 'Emas' weighed 1kg and his sister weighed 0.85kg, at five months old, he weighed 22kg and his sister weighed 17kg! 'Emas' and 'Hujan' mated several times according to reports, however, with no success which ultimately led to the EEP studbook keeper moving 'Emas' to Rotterdam Zoo and 'Nakal' one of the most genetically important cubs in Europe to arrive.

'Nakal' was born on the 3rd February 2014 at ZSL London Zoo in a litter of three with his brother, 'Budi' moving to Welsh Mountain Zoo and his sister, 'Cinta' headed to Prague Zoo. Their parents are 'Melati' and 'Jae Jae', who are Australian and American imported respectively. 'Melati' was the first to arrive in September 2012 and is the daughter of 'Hari' the previous tiger cub born at ZSL London Zoo in 1995. 'Jae Jae' arrived two weeks later from Akron Zoo where he spent a year or so with his brother and sister. Originally he was born at San Francisco Zoo, whereas 'Melati' was born at Perth Zoo.

It was great to see the pair mixed, 'Hujan' is obviously the more dominant of the two and they were at opposite sides of the enclosure. It is more of relationship where they tolerant each other rather than they enjoy each other's company. It will be interesting to see what happens to the entire tiger complex once the white's are phased out. It is a huge structure, it is a huge site and we were particularly impressed with the tiger run leading from the house to the tiger ridge exhibit! A quick mention on the whites, they have five, three males and two females.

Next stop... Hmm! Thank you for reading, any questions? Feel free to ask!

From Blackpool to Bourbannais!

Today, the 6th September 2016 was the last day for 'Barney' the Amur tiger at Blackpool Zoo. 'Barney' and his brother, 'Radzhi' were the result of a great partnership between 'Alyona' and 'Zambar' the resident pair at Blackpool Zoo. The two male cubs were the first tiger cubs successfully born at the zoo since 1996. The last cubs were a male and two females, they turned out to be 'Tammy', 'Tazmin' and 'Turlouch'. If you have read my other blog, you will see about their history and their life.

I arrived at the zoo around fifteen to twenty minutes after opening time to find that he had already left the zoo. He left the zoo around 10:00am, he is going to Bourbannais Zoo in France, I'm still trying to trace some details about his new collection.

It's been a pleasure to see the two cubs transfer from cubs to such young and majestic tigers. I remember waiting for them to make an appearance at around a year ago and standing at the window in the house to see them. I always found 'Barney' to be more of his mother's son, rather than his father's son. Towards the end of his time at Blackpool Zoo, obviously as tigers mature, the patience from the mother (And father in this case) grows thin. 'Barney' is the exact duplicate of his father, his relationship with his father was something that fascinated me. 'Zambar' himself was hand-raised and him being such a great father to his cubs, shows what a truly fantastic tiger he is.

The two cubs had a unique bond, which only brother's share. It's excellent to see that for a first time mother, Ally has raised two amazing young tigers. 'Radzhi' left Blackpool Zoo in January, he now lives in Santo di Inacio in Portugal. He is living with a female named 'Mila', they are related I believe. I think the two are second cousins from memory.

On that note, I'm sure the keepers are very pleased that they have two young, healthy, mother raised tigers in two different collections in Europe successfully raised! I've had some amazing times just watching those four tigers, it was amazing to see them mature into two fantastic tigers. All the best, Barney, Bon Voyage and safe travels!

ZSL London Zoo - Tiger Territory

Hello al!

For my second blog, I was a little unsure on what to write, so, I thought as I'm off to London in a few weeks, I'll write a small blog on ZSL London Zoo and their amazing Tiger Territory exhibit. I have only visited ZSL London Zoo once, this was over a year ago in February 2015. I was thrilled with one of their newest exhibits, Tiger Territory!

Plans for a new tiger enclosure at ZSL London Zoo had been scheduled for years, however, it finally began to construction several years ago. ZSL London Zoo's original pair of Sumatran tiger were 'Lumpar' and 'Raika', a non-breeding, old duo. 'Lumpar' was the male, born in France on 18th August 1997, who arrived in late October 1999. His mate, 'Raika' is from the Berlin Tierpark line, she was born on 26th May 1995 and was a single cub, she originally arrived on 30th April 1997. However, her full sister, by separate litters, 'Sarah' (Dudley Zoo) was swapped with her for breeding purposes on 6th June 2007. Though, no offspring occurred from the pairing of 'Lumpar' and 'Sarah', eventually, 'Sarah' was moved back to Dudley Zoo on 21st October 2008 with 'Raika' moving in the opposite direction. The duo of 'Lumpar' and 'Raika' left ZSL London Zoo in September 2012 to retire at the Wildlife Heritage Foundation. Unfortunately, in late 2015, 'Raika' was euthanised at the grand old age of twenty. A wonderful age for a beautiful cat.

This left ZSL London Zoo with no tigers, however, on 26th September 2012, a young female arrived freshly imported from Australia. 'Melati' was born on 20th August 2008 in a litter of three with her two brothers, 'Satri' and 'Jaya'. Her parents are 'Setia' (Originally born at Perth Zoo and a relative to 'Tenang' - the deceased male at Paignton Zoo, father of 'Kirana' at Chester Zoo) and 'Hari'. 'Hari' is actually the only ZSL London Zoo tiger before the introduction of their new tigers in 2012.

The second tiger to arrive for ZSL London Zoo's tiger territory was 'Jae Jae', a stunning young male born on 6th March 2008 at San Francisco Zoo. He arrived several weeks after 'Melati', in October 2012. After his arrival, steady introductions were taken to introduce the pair and a successful introduction was made several months after. Before they were moved to their new tiger territory exhibit, they were introduced in the old tiger enclosure, however, they were successfully moved across to their new exhibit in 2013.

On 22nd September 2013, 'Melati' gave birth to a single cub, the first tiger cub for ZSL London Zoo in seventeen years since the birth of 'Hari'. Although things were going great to start with, tragedy struck as 'Melati' took the precious cub outdoors once evening and the cub drowned in the outdoor pool. A post mortem on the cub found the beautiful cub had drowned. A bit blow to the studbook, the keepers, visitors, but, most importantly to 'Melati'.

Success! After such tragedy five months earlier, 'Melati' gave birth again on the 3rd February 2014, the second litter for her and 'Jae Jae'. Two males, named 'Budi' and 'Nakal, and a little female named 'Cinta' were welcomed into the world and were quite a handful for mum, 'Melati' to say the least! 'Melati' was a fantastic mother to this trio, raising them all successfully to adulthood, kept separate from their father, but, the wonderful thing about their exhibit is that, the glass windows allowed the young trio to interact with their lovely father.

After a long eighteen months for 'Melati', the two young males, 'Budi' and 'Nakal', were moved from ZSL London Zoo to new collections to eventually contribute to the EEP and their species in Europe. The two boys who were inseparable left the glorious ZSL London Zoo in late 2015, 'Budi' moved to Welsh Mountain Zoo on  7th January 2016 and his brother, 'Nakal' moved to West Midlands Safari Park, in Bewdley two days prior. 'Cinta' stayed with her mother for slightly longer, according to people I have spoken too, the two were very fond of each other. 'Melati' in particular had a lot of patience with her daughter. 'Cinta' left ZSL London Zoo in early March 2016 to move to Prague Zoo, leaving just the two adults, 'Jae Jae' and 'Melati' again.

When I first visited ZSL London Zoo, I spent the majority of my time at their Tiger Territory exhibit, it was amazing. Two great enclosures, good viewing for the public, good space for the animals and very good quality of signage. I'm looking forward to heading back down to London, it's a great place and the keepers are exceptional.

An introduction to the creator of Tigers Life...

Hello guys,

I'm Jordan, the creator of this blog, I'm currently studying animal management at college with the eventual goal of heading onto university. I've been a huge supporter of tigers, big cats and conservation since I saw my first tiger in 2001. This was 'Jagasar', a male Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) at Blackpool Zoo. I saw 'Jagasar' and his mate, 'Sheya' at Blackpool Zoo in their old enclosure in the big cat house, this is now the African lion enclosure/side. A little bit of information on Blackpool Zoo's old breeding pair, 'Sheya' and 'Jagasar' is below:

'Jagasar' was a male Amur tiger born on the 30th April 1992 at Helsinki Zoo, he was an only cub to 'Taiva' 'and 'Agasar'. He arrived from Helsinki Zoo at fourteen months old, so he was only still a cub at the time, when he arrived. He spent many years at the collection with his mate, 'Sheya', they had three cubs together, they were 'Tazmin', 'Tammy' and 'Turlouch'. His father, 'Agasar' was born in Germany, at Leipzig Zoo in 1974 and died a month after 'Jagasar' was born.

His mate, 'Sheya' has a different background to 'Jagasar', she was born here in the UK, at Marwell Zoo, she was born 8th October 1991 at Marwell Zoo and arrived on the 27th January 1993 so was on her own for a while before the arrival of her mate.

Together at Blackpool Zoo, 'Sheya' and 'Jagasar' successfully raised a trio of cubs, however, I don't know if they were raised with their father, I have no indication of that! Three cubs, a male and two females were born on the 26th January 1996 and successfully reared to adult hood! 'Tammy' headed to Dartmoor Zoo with, 'Tazmin' her sister on 30th August 1996, whilst 'Turlouch' moved to Dublin Zoo on 23rd March 1999.

Unfortunately, both these individuals died several years ago, 'Sheya' passed away first on the 1st January 2007, whilst 'Jagasar' was euthanised on the 11th November 2009. Recently, their offspring, 'Tammy', 'Tazmin' and lastly, 'Turlouch' passed away, so the Blackpool Zoo line has ended, expect for the offspring of 'Tammy' at Dartmoor Zoo, these are hybrid individuals, named 'Blotch' and 'Stripe' with their father, 'Vladimir' being a hybrid. 'Tazmin' remained at Dartmoor Zoo until her death, whilst her sister, 'Tammy' retired at Parc des Le Felines.

A new breeding pair was eventually created after the death of 'Jagasar', a new young hand-reared male, 'Zambar' arrived on the 1st February 2010. He was born on the 19th March 2004 at Marwell Zoo to 'Yenna' and 'Gamin', he was rejected by 'Yenna' as he was a solo cub, and her first cub. As such a wacky plan was to introduce him to an unrelated male who took to him like he was his own, which was brilliant for 'Zambar'. After a two year wait, in September 2012, 'Alyona' arrived from Beekse Burgen Safari Park, she was born on the 2nd June 2008 to 'Petrouchkamul' and 'Joris'. She was in a litter of three with her sister, 'Arisha' and her brother, 'Tijs'.

After a two year wait, the two new tigers at Blackpool Zoo, 'Alyona' and 'Zambar' had two cubs, 'Barney' and 'Radzhi' born on the 11th June 2014. The first cubs since 1996, I watched these two grow from the tiny little cubs they were to young adult male tigers they are today. I have a particular soft spot for 'Zambar' as I have watched him and visited him since 2010 and he is my favourite tiger. This blog will be mainly tiger based, although, it will be related to big cats and my zoo visits!

'Radzhi' left Blackpool Zoo on the 18th January 2016 leaving the seaside town of Blackpool and heading to sunny climates in Portugal. He moved to Zoo Santo de Inacio, to join 'Mila' a female born at Frankfurt Zoo in 2013 to 'Hanya' and 'Altai'. 'Altai' is the nephew of 'Zambar', incidentally after being born to 'Zambar's' younger sister, 'Nika'.

I hope the blog has kept you interested and I'll look forward to posting more. Take care and enjoy guys,

Jordan.