Nico and Meta produced six litters at Taronga Zoo: Litter One: 0.0.1 Unnamed Born 12 October 1980 Died <30 days 1.0 Mandau Born 12 October 1980 Sent to Ueno Zoo 1982 (Died 1990) 0.1 Musara Born 12 October 1980 Sent to Ueno Zoo 1982 (Died 2001) Litter Two: 0.0.1 Unnamed Born 17 December 1982 Died <30 days 0.0.1 Unnamed Born 17 December 1982 Died <30 days 0.0.1 Unnamed Born 17 December 1982 Died <30 days Litter Three: 0.0.1 Unnamed Born 2 December 1983 Died <30 days 0.0.1 Unnamed Born 2 December 1983 Died <30 days 1.0 Unnamed Born 2 December 1983 Died <30 days 0.1 Sinta Born 2 December 1983 Sent to San Diego Zoo 1986 (Died 1986) Litter Four: 0.0.1 Unnamed Born 12 March 1985 Died <30 days 0.0.1 Unnamed Born 12 March 1985 Died <30 days 0.1 Lunka Born 12 March 1985 Died <6 months 0.1 Usha Born 12 March 1985 Sent to San Diego Zoo 1987 (Died 1997) Litter Five: 0.0.1 Unnamed Born 6 September 1985 Died <30 days 1.0 Shiva Born 6 September 1985 Remained at Taronga Zoo (Died 2002) 0.1 Kali Born 6 September 1985 Sent to San Diego Zoo 1987 (Died 2008) Litter Six: 0.1 Unnamed Born 23 November 1988 Died <3 months 1.0 Jambi Born 23 November 1988 Sent to Wellington Zoo 1992 (Died 2001)
Auckland Zoo’s New Tigers I was interested in knowing the social background of Auckland Zoo’s new pair as husbandry guidelines recommend pairing tigers who have grown up with littermates of the opposite gender. The female (Zayana) was a quadruplet with three male littermates. The male (either Gusti or Ramah) was a triplet with two male littermates; however his litter were joined by a female Amur cub of the same age, who was cross-fostered to their mother and reared alongside them. Combined with the fact they’ve remained with their respective mothers well past the natural dispersal age (another husbandry recommendation), Auckland Zoo are likely receiving two very well socialised tigers. This will greatly aid introductions and hopefully lead to a successful pregnancy. 1.0 Gusti (08/07/2017) Kami Sambol x Lola 1.0 Ramah (08/07/2017) Kami Sambol x Lola 0.1 Zayana (15/10/2018) Sanjiv x Jingga
The female, Zayana, can sometimes be seen on a webcam at the Topeka Zoo. You can find the link to the outdoor Tiger Cam on the TopZooKTWU YouTube account. That YouTube account also has other videos of the tiger family. One of her brothers, Raja, sadly killed his prospective mate at the Point Defiance Zoo in Washington a couple of months ago. Her other 2 brothers, Badar and Bintang, are still together at the Topeka Zoo. I believe Gusti has actually moved to another zoo in the US to breed so that would leave Ramah to potentially move to Auckland.
Thanks @Elena! We look forward to welcoming Ramah and Zayana to New Zealand in the coming weeks. Auckland Zoo will likely receive an immediate breeding recommendation with cubs arriving around 2023. They’ll want to give them time to settle in and it makes good business sense to breed cubs a year on, as the hype of the new South East Asia precinct is starting to die down. It’s reasonable to assume the next cubs in the region will be from the pair at Auckland or the pair at Darling Downs Zoo. Ndari at the National Zoo is yet to produce cubs and Wellington Zoo are still faffing around with the world’s longest tiger intro (four years and counting).
Zayana's mother, Jingga, is scheduled to move to another zoo on Tuesday, December 7 per a Topeka Zoo post so she'll be separated from her mother by then, if she hasn't already been separated. That leads me to believe that they'll also announce when Zayana is scheduled to leave, which should give you a good idea of when she'll actually be in Auckland absent any changes.
Sounds good. We all appreciate your information and that others have been able to contribute. @Nisha first identified these cats as the likely candidates; which was then confirmed by @Animals R AMAZING!, @Jaxton and yourself. This is ZooChatter research at its best. Auckland Zoo have been highly secretive over the whole thing and in my mind have missed an opportunity here. It’s been 15 years since the zoo’s last breeding pair arrived and tigers have always been one of the zoo’s biggest attractions. What better way to drum up interest and engagement within the community than to advertise their arrival? This approach generated thousands of dollars for the zoo ahead of Oz and Molek’s arrival in 2006.
At least in the US, COVID-19 has impacted animal moves, especially moves involving vulnerable animals like cats. That could be playing a role here, particularly since recently there have been a number of COVID-19 cases among big cats at various US zoos (thankfully not at Topeka Zoo or Oklahoma City Zoo as far as I've heard). I do like the idea of generating excitement for new arrivals, so hopefully once plans are finalized (including obtaining export/import permits), each of the zoos involved can share the news.
Yes, COVID-19 has impacted both the imports and the construction of the South East Asia precinct. The tigers were originally scheduled to arrive in June 2020; then last October, the zoo announced their new target date was December 2021 to January 2022. Since then, Auckland has had another lockdown, so it’s fair to assume this will be adjusted again. Especially since the exhibit isn’t quite completed yet. Unfortunately, I doubt Auckland Zoo will share the news until they arrive. Their recent lions imports (from Australia) weren’t announced until two days after they arrived.
As announced by @WhistlingKite24 in the Taronga news thread, 18 year old Jumilah has been euthanised. She was the second oldest tiger in the region, and the oldest in Australia. Her death leaves Taronga with 3.3 Sumatran Tigers: 1.0 Kembali (20/08/2011) Satu x Jumilah 0.1 Kartika (20/08/2011) Satu x Jumilah 1.0 Clarence (22/08/2013) Ramalon x Kaitlyn 1.0 Pemanah (17/01/2019) Clarence x Kartika 0.1 Mawar (17/01/2019) Clarence x Kartika 0.1 Tengah Malam (17/01/2019) Clarence x Kartika
Oldest Sumatran Tigers in the Region With the death of Jumilah at Taronga Zoo this week, the oldest tigers in the region are as follows: 0.1 Mencari (10/01/2000) Jambi x Cantic 1.0 Raja (25/12/2003) Imported 2005 1.0 Juma (01/04/2004) Lari x Malu 1.0 Ranu (01/04/2004) Lari x Malu 0.1 Singha (01/04/2004) Lari x Malu Mecnari is also the second oldest Sumatran tiger in the world (after Chrissie at the Honolulu Zoo). Interestingly, three of the top five are three littermates born at Mogo Zoo. Their parents lived long lives (19 and 20 years respectively), so they’ve clearly inherited their longevity genes. Another contributing factor could be that they’re contact animals, allowing their keepers to regularly check their condition physically, contributing to their good health.
According to the exotic mammals list in this forum, there are six holders. I believe these are their current holdings: Dreamworld: 5.4 Sydney Zoo: 0.1 Australia Zoo: 1.2 National Zoo: 2.2 Mogo: 1.0 Zambi: 1.1 Edit: You said region (not Australia), so will also mention Kamo (New Zealand) has 0.2 elderly Bengal/generic tigers.
On top of this list there are also 2 tigers that are owned by the Bullens family. They had 2 Cubs born 2019 that were loaned to Paradise country late 2019 and then to Mogo in early 2020. I’m not really sure where these cubs came from but they are part of their collection used for TV/movie productions, both still are doing well according to their Facebook page.
I was about to ask about Pouakai Zoo, this forum seems to suggest only 1 lion and 1 tiger remained in 2019 but maybe a nz member could confirm
One (Azra) had died when I last checked in mid 2019. The other (Kala) may still be alive, but given her age this is unlikely. Their littermate (Anila) died in 2013.
Thanks for the update @Adam0. There was an article concerning the sale of the zoo in 2019, which mentioned they had one female white tiger named Kala and two lions, Aslan and Asha. This led me to the incorrect assumption the other tiger (Azra) and the other lioness (Leah) had died. I’m glad to hear Kala is still alive, as are the lions.
Unfortunately Pouakai Zoo lost Leah on June 2021, Aslan September 2021 due to old age and health complications. Aslan's sister Asha was put down alongside Aslan due to welfare considerations. Recently Benji, Aleekah and Ayla have been introduced from Paradise Valley, Rotorua and are adapting onto their new environment really well.
That sounds like the kindest decision for Asha. Many of New Zealand’s zoos have done similar when their prides are rescued to two animals. Thank you for the update that 1.2 have been transferred from PV. I wasn’t aware of that.
