Wow that sounds like a terrible death. I wonder what caused Mesi to go after him? I mean if you have been together so long why now? Was a female in heat? If so why try to break into Jigsaw's pen instead of hers? I really hope more info comes out about this because its very intreging.
Apparently the zoo is unsure if it can or will be able to replace some of the large animals it lost in 2013. Little Rock Zoo officials unsure is some large animals that died will be replaced - Daily Journal
Nothing new, as per usual in most zoos when animals may need replacing or transfering. I would just say .. wait and see!
Is there something going particularly wrong with the Giraffe PMP/SSP? Birmingham had a herd of 2 adult males and 3 females until 2012 when Edward had to be put down after breaking a leg. Despite all the plans for Trails saying the herd could be as big as 7/8 members none were brought in to replace Edward. Now they are back to 5 with the birth of Griffin (not official but its winning the poll by a large margin) but he is still the child of two of them instead of an unrelated male. Are zoos having trouble sourcing generic giraffes?
Cannot answer your question. The only thing I do know is there is a functioning and quite robust Masai giraffe population. Most if not all SSP "reticulateds" are in fact sadly generic / hybrids and resembles nothing like the real wilds. But again, there generics should thus not be too hard to come by I should think ... from within US zoos. If the number of high profile giraffe deaths seems out of the ordinary, ... one should know that giraffe mortality is actually quite a regular event amongst all age classes (this is not unlike in the wild where f.i. 50% calves never see their first year and also bachelor males are particularly at risk from predation). Something about their physiology makes them quite breakable ...
Yeah I was referring to the Rothtic Complex as they call it in the PMP. The reason I asked is it seems to be a recent baby boom of giraffes around the AZA (particularly males) but I've seen comments about several zoos lacking numbers. Birmingham's new exhibit is designed to hold up to 8 and hasn't gotten above 4 in the two years since it opened/Edward died. And something I noticed when I went to Florida zoos this summer were Jacksonville/Tampa and Brevard all seemed to have giraffe exhibits that could hold way more than they currently do. Tampa and Brevard I think were Masai giraffe though.
A number of factors could make getting a new giraffe harder. Firstly I know the giraffe ssp was recently completed so all of the current giraffes are spoken for based on the needs of the zoos housing them. Any giraffes up for grabs in theory have potential homes. Some wont pan out so they will come back up for discussion. But they might just have to wait for a calf to be born or become independant that is genetically compatable to the herd. Secondly the herd could already be fairly well represented in the population making a good match for them harder. I was suprised to see finding a new male lion might be difficult. Of all of them I would think getting a male lion would be easiest. Might have to wait for a cub to reach maturity but its possible.
The tiger cubs Liem, Eko, Olan and Asmara, go on exhibit March 15. LR Zoo's 4 Tiger Cubs Make Debut March 15 - Local News, Weather, Sports, and Community for Central Arkansas
Penguin chick: Little Rock Zoo welcomes a new penguin | Arkansas Blog | Arkansas news, politics, opinion, restaurants, music, movies and art
A three year old child fell into the Jaguar exhibit Oct 10th. The child was taken to the hospital and its not clear if there was a jaguar on exhibit at the time. Im sure more details will come when the zoo gets sued. Child falls into Jaguar exhibit at Little Rock Zoo | WREG.com
Update about the child which was fallen into the Jaguar exhibit : UPDATE: Child who fell into jaguar exhibit in critical condition - KATV - Breaking News, Weather and Razorback Sports
LR Zoo I have never been to LR Zoo but it sounds decrepit and crappy. First. Babe and Sophie. Niabi Zoo did the right thing by moving their elephants, but they shouldn't have moved them to LR. LR has had a load of elephant deaths and is shabby for elephants. When Jewell died, they should have phased out elephants and sent Zina to TES or PAWS. Second. The zoo did a bad job with the jaguar exhibit. They should have done it like Akron, so it would be glass instead of open. The zoo seems dumpy and poor.
And you just KNOW that they're gonna be forced to euthanize the jaguars even though it was no fault of their own...
unfortunately, they probably will sue, just like the boy in pittsburgh whose parents sued even though the mother put the boy up on the railing. i have seen people put children up on barriers right above signs saying to keep off. people are stupid.
i dont think they will have to put the cats down. pittsburgh didnt have to. they just quietly dispersed the pack to other zoos. and unlike the other incidents (including the keeper death in northern california last year), they were able to successfully get the cats away from the kid to rescue him from the exhibit. what i find 'funny' about one of the articles...it says he suffered puncture wounds but didnt know if it came from the fall or the cats. if it came from the fàll then there's apparently objects in the exhibit unsafe to the jags. the puncture wounds obviously came from the cats.
The reason that the Little Rock Zoo was chosen for Babe and Sophie is because they have experience dealing with geriatric elephants and it is in a warmer climate than Illinois.
semi true, it's mainly due to the fact that like Zina and Jewell, Babe and Sophie are likewise retired old circus elephants. The LR Zoo's support for the circus's (unlike mose zoo's) is one main reason they were secured the girls over PAWS or TES. There were even rumors they were headed to Columbus before LR was decided so their support ultimately landed them the girls. And as for the jaguars I'm almost certain there will be no euthanizations. As for why in the world the zoo never though about piano wire or glass for the viewing canopies is disturbing and almost ignorant, especially for a jaguar exhibit of all cats.. I understand the presence of human error in placing the child on the rail i just believe extra protection could have easily been provided and the incident prevented by securing the exhibit a bit more. In fact, in not sure of ANY zoo jaguar that is open aired off the top of my mind that's not supported by tall glass or mesh. Just ridiculous.
you've got a good point about it being an open air exhibit which lends to the potential for being dangerous. out of all the big cat exhibits i have ever seen, i can only remember cheetah exhibits as being open air. all the types of cats have hide tall glass, some kind of mesh or tall bars. i cant imagine a jaguar exhibit being open air a very good idea.
While researching a Cleveland Zoo history project that I am currently working on I came across a article in the 1982 Cleveland Press.The article focused on public complaints that the zoos newly constructed deck walk was not safe because of its open railings.A zoo spokesman was quoted in the article as saying that the structure was designed to offer spectacular views of the zoo and that parents are advised to watch their kids.I found this to be amazing.The deckwalk remained untouched for at least 10 yrs however mesh was installed in the 90's.The world is certainly a different place now.Moronic people are everywhere ! Marty of Team Tapir223
