Jaguar » Melbourne Zoo

Jaguar
01-12-2008

The remaining Jaguar at Melbourne Zoo, Maya (the melanistic one) has passed away at age 21.

01-12-2008

So, is there still a male at Mogo?

And if so, is he the last jaguar left in the country?

01-12-2008

I've seen these jaguar millions of times and always kind of took it for granted that it will be there the next time I visit. I wish I paid more attention to it 'cos now if I want to see one I've got to go to all the way to Queensland.
It's so sad that an animal found in nearly every american collection is as good as gone in Australia and big cats are one of the few animals that we can still import.

01-12-2008

Sorry PAT - none left in Queensland.

Only one left now at Mogo Zoo near Bateman's Bay NSW.

01-12-2008

I thought there was one at Darling Downs Zoo (Your Zoo?) Or has that died as well

01-12-2008

Yes, our zoo. She was euthanised during this past winter.

Sad to see them all inevitably die out but, on the bright side, look at how much more sustainable and worthwhile a Snow Leopard breeding program could be with all these extra spaces available.

02-12-2008

That is very sad, now I wish i'd gone to there 2 weeks ago like I was planning...

02-12-2008

I do think that snowleopards are a better species for our zoos to invest in but I'm still sad to see all of the jaguars dissappear.

02-12-2008

Snow leopards - cats that live in snow and ice - yep, sunny Australia is the perfect place for them all right!

02-12-2008

Darling Downs - elevated, dry, cold winters - better than the tropics!!!!

02-12-2008

snow leopards would benifit more from australasian involvement in a breeding program than jaguars would in an ex-situ case

02-12-2008

Hmmm, yes, snow leopards...... the cubs are quite cute. Look forward to seeing some soon.

02-12-2008

(Forgive my silly attempt at sarcasm.)
Actually, snow leopards appear to do well in Australia, plus they are just magnificent looking cats.

There are apparently 5 males and 6 females in the country, at four zoos. Are they closely related? (In other words, is there a decent founder base?)

02-12-2008

There could have been but apparently there are health problems with some infividuals. There have been two breeding pairs, one at Mogo and another Taronga. The Taronga breeding male has been sent to Melbourne to mate with their female. Maybe there will be cubs there soon?
The pair of leopards at the National Zoo are cubs from the pair at Mogo.

03-12-2008

Mind you Ara, all sarcasm aside, you do raise a good point.

Here at the DDZ, as we continually fine tune our aspirations for this zoo, we look to ARAZPA guidelines on many subjects. One of the areas that troubles me a bit is the emphasis on South-east Asian species in collection plans - just because they are South-east Asian. The emphasis is understandable but it does not always take into account the specific climatic needs of some species.

Australia is Australasia NOT South-east Asia and the climate in much of our country is nothing like, say a tropical South-east Asian climate. And, conversely, montaine South-east Asian climates are nothing like tropical Aussie areas. As a result, it is not unusual to see some in animals in Australian zoos in totally inappropriate climates.

A classic case in point are the Red Pandas panting their way through each sweltering north Queensland summer day. To house Snow Leopards in such a climate would be unforgiveable. Fortunately the TAG now seems to recognise this in the case of Snow Leopards but the plight of the Red Pandas remains.