Wait, do you mean there are only THREE golden cats in Parc des Félins now ?! That is terrible, as I have thought there are still plenty of golden cats and breed well in the zoo
So the global Tibetan golden cat population in captivity is only EIGHT now Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens, UK (1 male, Ipoh) Heidelberg Zoo, Germany (1 female, Swai-fai) Le Parc des Felins, France (2 males, Guï and Phu Len) Chongqing Zoo, China (1 male and 1 female, unrelated; the female has just arrived from Chengdu Zoo recently) Zigong Zoo, China (1 male) Shehong zoo, China (1 male) The four European individuals are siblings, while the four Chinese individuals are all unrelated. Hope there will be a cooperative program between Chinese and European zoos
I've heard that Wuppertal had a litter this year. I don't know if any kitten has survived. Munster is still trying (and will be) with AI.
The female golden cat in Münster has died in fall; the male is already very old and not of best health, so it's very probable that the species will not be seen much longer in the zoo. I am not 100% but I think the male cat in Wuppertal has died as well.
Kind of sad about the diminishing number of this incredible species being kept at Parc des Felins. When I visited way back in 2013 If I remember correctly I saw two pairs of this species that were I assume different subspecies though I cannot recall what these were. I pretty much visited the park specifically to see these cats and it was the first time I had ever seen a live one. Needless to say it was a very special treat to catch a glimpse of them and I remember them prowling up and down the fence of their enclosure. I do hope the park continues to breed and obtain this species as it would be a shame if it was to slowly fade out from zoos due to a lack of interest like the African golden cat sadly has done.
The situation of this EEP is really sad and terrible. We would need to import new animals from Asia, but it is a very difficult task.
They would have been Catopuma temminckii tristis (current population: 2.0) and Catopuma temminckii temminckii (current population: 0.1). The female Catopuma temminckii temminckii is named Hoi An (born 2001 at Singapore Zoo) and lived in New Zealand for a few years. I saw her son, Hotan, prior to his export to Wuppertal Zoo. He was a large, striking cat.
Truly sad indeed. On my visits (several years ago) to Le Parc Des Felins they had three separate exhibits for golden cats, one of which held a mother and kitten. I also saw three separate exhibits on my sole visit to Edinburgh Zoo. I am glad I got photos when I did (just as I am glad I got good photos of Indian wildcat at Port Lympne before they died out).
@Tafin It was in the first of the three exhibits at Le Parc Des Felins. This means the exhibit on the main Asia path (where you could see it from the front on route to snow leopards and siberian tigers or from the side going down the dead-end path to other two golden cat exhibits). This was in April 2013. hang in there baby - ZooChat
Always wonder why golden cats in Le Parc Des Felins fail to breed, since their enclosures are so lush and large, judging from the gallery photos. Maybe an off-exhibit and more lush and taller enclosure would be helpful ?
Aren't these felines just notoriously difficult to breed in captivity anyway even if the enclosure is large and densely planted ?
They are one of the trickier ones to breed, yes - but Parc des Felins is actually the collection which for many years was having the most success with the species. Problem is, when one collection is breeding them and other collections only do so very rarely, and little to no new blood is coming in, you end up with a closely related population and breeding stops...... which, in combination with some good old-fashioned mismanagement at one collection which will remain nameless, is what did for the Tibetans in Europe,
I see , thank you for this information, I think this is particularly common when it comes to institutions maintaining the smaller feline species ex situ. What a shame that the same interest in breeding big cats is not directed to their smaller relatives. I guess it was a similar situation which ultimately led to the African golden cat disappearing from zoos ?
I think the African golden cats were never prevalent in the zoo world? Otherwise it should be easier to breed than Asiastic golden cats since the African one is the close relative of caracal, which is a taxon easy to breed, while the Asiatic golden cat belongs to the most difficult-to-breed felid taxon, which also inlcudes marbled cat and bay cat ?
