Having heard that Jack the white tiger's just died, it reminded me of visit to Colchester Zoo in about the late 90s (probably around Christmas 97/98) where, on Jack's enclosure, I vaguely there was a notice saying that they had tried introducing a companion (mate?), but that they had fought and she had died. Anyone know more about this, or am I imagining it
Quote from Plaque on Sasha's enclosure "This enclosure is dedicated to the memory of Anna, our female white tiger, killed by her mate, 27th November 1999"
When i went in 2001 Jack was also under the name of "Sasha" if he has died the enclosure would be good for better use of another cat lets say a group of non breeding bengals? or a pair of Sumatrans. I cant remember what the enclosure is like could it hold a pair + cubs well? Regards
Cheers karenZoo-that explains it Riziki-if they had introduced a mate, then it probably is big enough to hold a breeding pair, though why Colchester Zoo would want to breed white tigers is beyond me. I was thinking about what they could do with the space last night; as it would be rather cruel (in my opinion) to split up Ivan and Anoushka, as they are very fond of each other, depending on how close Jack/Sasha's enclosure is to the Amurs, couldn't they bring in a pure female Amur, or even a pure pair? The first idea might stress out Anoushka, I guess, if she smelt another cat, but at least that way Ivan's genes would get passed on.
If they are close enough moving Ivan round on a rotational basis could work but maybe it would be better to bring in another pair of maybe Sumatran Tigers or another cat species.Could Jaguars or maybe Leopards come back to Colchester? I cant remember the enclosure very well but im sure with some refurbishing of the enclosure it could hold any fo these, and also the renaming of White Tiger Valley . Regards
Dont know if ive misread what you've been saying but Sasha at colchester zoo is still alive, Jack is/was a white tiger at Belfast. BTW colchester houses Amur Leopards, but it would also be nice to see Jaguars return. Also the Amur Tiger male is IGOR not Ivan.
Im not too sure either Roz if it is Jack at belfast the enclosure looks good and it could probably hold more tigers happily with an upgrade.But Sasha is rather old isnt he?, His death wouldnt suprise me. It would be nice for Jags to return to Colchester i agree
no it is definately jack from belfast i found it out on google- type in Jack white tiger. Sasha is about 14 I think.
Thanks for that Roz. Im guessing he was an old tiger then? he looks it from the photos. that means Sashas got about another 3-6 good years ahead of him . Anyone know weather the enclosure at Colchester could be converted for Jags in the future? Thanks
Ah-my mistake then From what I read on the other thread (well, misread), it was the Colchester white tiger who'd died. Bloody fibrofog. Good to know though that Sasha is still alive Still, food for thought about his enclosure. Maybe both Colchester and Belfast could think about getting in some different big cat species, for, although Sumatrans are nice (and my favourite sort of tiger), it'd be nice to have a bit of diversity. Malaysian tigers for instance, or Arabian leopards
I agree but they arent the most common to find . I think Jags would go well. And from what ive seen of the Tiger enclosure at Belfast looks like it could hold Siberians well.
Found this old article QUOTE Colchester: Killer tiger could stay at zoo From the archive, first published Thursday 16th Mar 2000. The white Siberian tiger which killed its mate may be able to remain at Colchester Zoo. After the incident which killed partner Anna in November, zoo bosses said Sacha would ultimately be moved back to France. But yesterday curator Anthony Tropeano said there was now a possibility that Sacha, who has become a macabre celebrity with zoo-goers since Anna's death, would stay in Colchester. Mr Tropeano said a new enclosure would have to be built for him. And though a decision has yet to be reached he said it would be better to have Sacha in Colchester than in a tiny enclosure back in France where no-one looked after him properly. Echo - Colchester: Killer tiger could stay at zoo
Interesting article karenZoo I still find it odd though that Colchester wanted to breed white tigers, unless they were both unrelated, pure Bengals that happened to both have the mutation, but I find that hard to believe.
More from same paper Colchester: Tiger killed in zoo tragedy From the archive, first published Monday 29th Nov 1999. Keepers at Colchester Zoo were still in a state of shock today after a male tiger killed its partner. The keepers had been trying to get the Siberian white tigers together but, after ten minutes in the same compound, the male jumped on the female and grabbed her by the throat. She was killed instantly. There were six keepers on the scene at the time but despite using water, brooms and a dart gun, the male - called Sacha - managed to kill the female Anna. The tragedy on Saturday morning took place before the Stanway zoo was open to the public and was part of a seven-day plan to get the tigers together. They have been at the zoo for 18 months and are both aged four. It was the second day of the plan and the first attempt on Friday had been successful with the pair staying together for half an hour with few problems. As the female was in season, the keepers thought it was potentially the right time to bring the pair together. The same operation was repeated on Saturday but tragedy struck within minutes. "We put them together with the intention of leaving them together for an hour," zoo boss Anthony Tropeano said. "There were no problems in the first ten minutes but, at five past nine, the male jumped on her and grabbed her by the throat. The keepers used water and brooms to attempt to separate them, sadly unsuccessfully. "We had a darting gun ready, so darted him. However, by the time the drug had an effect, it was too late," he added. The male tiger weighs about 800lb and Mr Tropeano said the tranquillising dart would have taken between five and ten minutes to have any effect. "It was not a fight that got out of control," he said. "Zoos have been putting tigers together for years and a reaction like this is not regular. We have had no problems before and it was the standard procedure," Mr Tropeano said. He added: "It was very distressing for the staff. "Spare a thought for the keepers who took the decision to get these two animals together and will now, undoubtedly, feel responsible. We all do. "The best way I can describe it is that, for some time, we will all feel the end of the world has come," Mr Tropeano said. Echo - Colchester: Tiger killed in zoo tragedy
Phew, I am relieved to hear that Sasha hasn't died - as we have just lost a much loved family cat on Thursday, and my 5 year old daughter is already very upset (as am I). I think another death of an animal she is very fond of would have been very hard on her. Sasha is a huge favourite of hers (after Rajang) - though she insists on calling him Tiggy.
Aww sorry to hear about your cat. My partner adopts Sasha which I do for xmas every year and his plaque says 'takes one to know one' referring to them both being grumpy old men! I cant imagine him rolling over and purring when you tickle his tummy thats Sasha not my partner Although most people seem to think being called Sasha makes him a girl! I love hearing him bellow it carries all around the zoo
Relief over here in Yorkshire too that it wasn't Sasha that had died - he is my partner's favourite also and a beautiful tiger. I always think of him as a female with that name also!! LOL. I'm sure I read somewhere that he isn't fed on Fridays to mimic the wild - could explain why he's grumpy ... well on that day anyway!!
Don't think it makes a difference with Sasha he always seems to be grumpy! He apparently is an accomplished Mallard killer so I dont think fast days do much good We have only ever watched one tiger feed (usually to crowded for us) and he took no interest at all in his hidden food Sasha always has this superior aire about him, I can't imagine him ever doing anything he doesn't want to! If you are down in the observation window adjacent to the road train track he never acknowledges you in any way even if you get down to eye level! He really can't be bothered. Not sure they made any changes but interesting study done on Sasha's fast day http://www.colchester-zoo.co.uk/index.cfm?fa=research.detail&id=58
I know what you mean re the 'superior aire' - he definitely knows he is the boss!! LOL. Interesting link to the study - thanks for that - I wondered where I had read about his friday fast - obviously on the Colchester Website!
