Felids in Australasian Zoos – News, History and Discussion

‘Yakalla’ the Sri Lankan Leopard is now on-display and her mate is due to arrive from Spain in a few weeks.
What a stunning animal!
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I will keep this in mind when I post news-related information in the future.

 

I'm equally guilty of posting news in here; after all I did create the thread for the purpose of posting news, history and discussion, but I was hoping we can still continue to do so (in addition to posting in the news thread if you want us to) as it's nice to have big cat news in one place as a record of big cats in the region and to have discussions on them. The zoo specific news threads become obsolete on Jan 1 of each year and largely disappear into the ethos. If I was looking for a news article on the death of a tiger in the region etc. it's much easier to search this forum than trying to remember what year it died and then searching through the zoo news thread of that year.

In addition, by having this thread for the discussion of big cats in the region; people not interested in big cats are spared hearing about them in detail in the general news thread. I know for sure there's times I've clicked on the general news thread for a zoo only to realise it's people posting on a species which is of little interest to me. The subject of posts in this thread should therefore come as no surprise or disappointment to those that check them.

 

It's always exciting to see a new species in the region; and a young breeding pair even more so!

Does anyone know where Darling Downs Zoo are at with importing this species? Is this still in their plans, as it says on their website they were due to arrive 2017.

 

So there are no more leopards in Australia than this pair?

 

Not yet, though Adelaide Zoo will be importing them in the future.

Other subspecies of leopard have been historically held in Australasian Zoos e.g. Indian leopard at Auckland Zoo and Persian leopard at Perth Zoo, but I don’t believe any zoo in the region has held the Sri Lankan subspecies prior to the National Zoo’s import.

 

I worked at Auckland Zoo from 1985-1996, the two male jaguars were Jesu and Lima and they were kept in one enclosure next to the baboons. Next to them were the two females Yari and her daughter Miani. Next to their enclosure was the black leopard Toby. In 1985, Miani attacked a keeper who had mistakenly not locked her up and was emptying the pool to clean when Miani had got between the keeper and the exit. A member of the public saw what had happened and pushed the alarm on the old cafeteria. I was the first keeper on the scene with a pitchfork, I managed to get her off Jenni and then she attacked me and dragged me towards the pool to drown me. Peter West came in with came in with his pitchfork and smashed her over the head but his handle broke. Wayne Smith then came in and pitchforked her in the side of the face. She turned towards the back of the enclosure and we all ran out. Still got the scars and it's always a story to tell.

 

Wow what a story! Glad you were all ok

 

That's incredible, I'm glad you all made it out alive (and hope the Jaguar wasn't too badly injured)!

Was Yari the female who arrived from Topeka Zoo in 1979 (and died 1985)?

Were the two males you mentioned littermates (or father and son, living separately)? I believe Lima was the last Jaguar at Auckland Zoo (who died approximately 1996), so I'm guessing he was Yari or Miani's offspring?

 

Edit: I meant was Yari the female who arrived from Lincoln Park Zoo in 1969 (and died 1987)?

Also, 'Tiger by the Tail - a History of Auckland Zoo' mentions Black leopard cubs arriving from the Chicago Zoo in 1968. Was one of these the Black leopard 'Toby' you mentioned?

 

I don't remember where Yari came from but I am pretty sure that she died in 1987. I also don't remember anything else about Toby but there were two other black leopards when I was there, Ace and Trixie. They were kept in an enclosure next to the mountain lions. One of the mountain lions Kay was hand raised and friendly enough that you could go in with her. The zoo also had a margay called Alison, who was the oldest living margay in captivity.

 

I suppose if Black leopard cubs were imported in 1968, it’d be pushing it for them both/all to still be alive in the late 1980s. Maybe Toby, Ace and Trixie were their offspring.

How were the males (Jesu and Lima) related to Yari and Miami?

Also, do you know anything about these Jaguar, who were rejected by their mother at Auckland Zoo (and sent to Hadlow Game Park):

Timaru District - Hadlow Game Park 1972 - 1986

 

That sounds possible I just can't remember. I think Jesu and Lima were brothers but I'm not sure about their relationship to Yari and Miani. I do know that we kept them separate so they wouldn't breed as no one wanted jaguars. The jaguar rejected by its mother would have happened before I started working there, so I don't remember anything about it.

 

From what I’ve heard, Lima was the last Jaguar at Auckland Zoo (died in 1996) so I suppose it’s reasonable to assume he (and Jesu) were born either 1978 or 1979 at Auckland Zoo; as the male died 1979, and the female produced 1.2 cubs in 1977 that were sent to Hamilton Zoo.

I’d also say it was likely that Miani was in Yari’s last litter (possibly along with Jesu and Lima) as you mentioned Yari and Miani were housed together; and if Yari had litters after Miani, it would have disrupted their bond.

 

I noticed a video on news.com.au today about a 15 year old Lion - Kovu, who has been "retired" at Zambi Wildlife retreat for 10 months - the video also showed a lioness sharing his very nice enclosure - does anyone know where they've come from?

 

Their names are Kovu, Masie and Kiara, they are retired from the Lennon Bro’s circus

More info on Zambi’s Instagram
Zambi Wildlife Retreat on Instagram: “RETIRED CIRCUS LIONS MOVE INTO THEIR NEW HOME • Last year, three lions, Kovu, Masie and Kiara were retired from Lennon Bros circus, after…”

 

Malu sadly passed away earlier this year at just over 22 years, so Kemiri's record of longevity stands at 22 years and 7 months.

The eldest Sumatran tiger in the region is now Assiqua at 20 years and 7 months.

 

Thank you for confirming the news about Malu - very sad, but she had good innings..

Mencari at Hamilton is now the only remaining offspring from Wellington's former breeding pair (Cantik X Jambi). They had two litters, the first in 1996 (Nisha, Malu and Rokan) and a second set of triplets in 2000 (Mencari, Molek and Jaka)

 

Mencari is also the last of the second generation of Sumatran tigers in the region (from the Nico/Meta line) as she is the last survivor of Jambi’s six offspring; and the last survivor of Shiva’s offspring (Kemiri) died in 2017.

It’s interesting to note that Assiqua (the oldest Sumatran tiger in the region); Mencari (the third oldest Sumatran tiger in the region); and Djelita (also a second generation descendent of Nico/Meta and the record holder for longevity worldwide) all had one thing in common, they were speyed. It makes me wonder if this has influenced their long lives by decreasing their chances of cancer of the reproductive tract.