ZTL lists 159 collections with tigers of no sub-generic status; the Malayan tiger (9) was on the keep list. Does Hamerton really need tigers of no sub-generic status as well? I must admit that the budgie situation confused me and I was about to put budgies in the 'Departure' lounge; presumably Hamerton's budgies are special as only 8 ZTL collections keep them. ZTL says that 16 collections have Sri Lankan rusty-spotted cats, so there were more zoos than I used for my 'Keep' criterion.
It's worse than that - they are white tigers I'd rather they didn't have them - but the zoo doesn't exist for my benefit or for any ZooChatter's benefit. As I explained above, there are obvious reasons for keeping them.
I get confused about the 'white tiger' controversy. I agree that white tigers are not a conservation issue, but I suspect more visitors like seeing white tigers rather than 'normal-coloured' tigers and that keeping white tigers helps to pay for animals that many Zoochatters would prefer to see. The same criterion probably also applies to ring-tailed lemurs and meerkats etc.
The White Tiger's bring in visitors. Visitors pay and bring in money to pay for the rarer species that we all enjoy seeing. The WT's are a none breeding pair of siblings - it's a perfectly acceptable arrangement.
It’s interesting to hear people’s thoughts on the future of Hamerton. It certainly has an impressive number of rarities for a zoo of its size, and I enjoyed my first visit last year - although I couldn’t help but feel that a shift from quantity to quality would be beneficial in terms of how the collection is exhibited. That said, I think they recognise this and are improving on it (the Malayan Tiger development was certainly an impressive one).
Personally I’m excited to see what becomes of the old tiger enclosure that held the original generic pair.
Not only is there a lot of work going on at the zoo, but the A1/A14 junction less than 10 miles away is under development and will attract lots of traffic and potential visitors. I wonder if they'll finish some of these exhibits by the junctions completion and tap into the passing traffic.
I would prefer Puma / Mountain Lion / Florida Panther / Cougar or whatever you want to call there. Simply aren't enough in the Uk in the big cat department and they are beautiful creatures.
I'm not sure the second part necessarily follows from the first? It all depends where the tigers came from, and whether they plan to get more after these ones. Lots of zoos which are not breeding surplus individuals are still considered to be actively contributing to a breeding program by holding them after all.
I'm not suggesting I disagree with your post, but surely there isn't a breeding program for white tigers?!
Well, there certainly isn't an EEP, but as far as I know some zoos are still breeding them (eg Liberec).
The White Tiger's were born at Serengeti Park in Germany. As far as I'm aware they haven't bred anymore since the litter Hamerton's individuals came from (October 2012)
A zoo without frills. I visited Hamerton for the first time last Friday. I knew roughly what to expect from the species list on ZTL, the comments in this forum and the photos in our gallery. But nothing really prepares you for your first entry into a zoo. I was a little disconcerted that there was no map provided for visitors or even a 'You are Here' plan as you walk into the zoo. Consequently I walked straight past the Javan binturong enclosure, without even realising that it was there - and I did the same thing with the cassowaries a little later. I now realise that, with work in progress in the south west corner of the zoo and in two areas near its centre, the old maps are out of date, but they are not yet ready to provide new ones. I did not like the lack of seats around the zoo, except for some picnic tables near the tiger enclosures, or the fact that there were no keeper talks or advertised feeding times. Do they happen at weekends or in school holidays? I hope so, otherwise the visitor experience is distinctly limited, unless you're too much of a zoo nerd to care about such things. I note from the website that there are plans for a new entrance complex, which I hope go through: I hope they will include improved toilets too. The animals are the main thing, of course. Hamerton easily passed my sound test: I always contend that good zoos are full of interesting sounds. I heard the donkeys, lar gibbons, ruffed lemurs, great argus, pied crows, seriemas, giant wood rails, white storks and even a mating male sulcata tortoise, plus those ubiquitous red kites. Good show! I saw most of the zoo's specialities that were on show, including the bush turkeys, pied crows, oncilla, aardwolves, tayra, Javan binturongs, the male rusty-spotted cat, swamp wallabies and a swamp cavy (which seemed unsettled by relentless chasing and mating of two pairs of potoroos in the same enclosure). I dipped out on the grisons and just saw the tail of a jaguarundi. The corsac foxes would have beaten me too, if I hadn't waited until they were fed, shortly before the zoo closed; perhaps they would have been more active on a cooler day. The enclosures are mostly fairly basic in design and Hamerton will never be a pretty zoo. There is a lot of bare wire mesh and rather wide stand-offs, which make photography difficult and the beautiful sunshine was often an added complication. A few ha-has would have helped a lot. I particularly disliked the fly filled sloth house and the covered passageways through the tiger enclosures, which reminded me of run-down airport. But on the whole I enjoyed my day. I hope I can visit again when the new exhibits are completed, but I will take my long telephoto lens and look for a few clouds in the sky to help me get better photos.
