Sita killed It has emerged young Sita was killed recently by one of the two male Tigers. It is shocking seen as both of the males are fully grown(and Tygo is her dad) and yet she is a lot younger. Also it appears as the Park was trying to breed her so I can only presume that they had put her in with Jahdu. It raises the question seen as they were introducing them why were no staff around? Such a pointless tragic loss - R.I.P Sita 3 devastating losses since Craig was unfairly dismissed. R.I.P Dalu, Shia and Sita.
I don't really understand why they are trying to breed anyway. BUT There would have had to have been staff present when initial introductions were made (gates don't open themselves). It is a hazard of the industry, animals are killed when introductions are made, it happens in the wild. In zoos staff are on standby usually with fire extinguishers to try and stop it. What else could staff have done. maybe if Craig Craig was there he would have tried to go in to stop them fighting and got himself killed. Another Dalu. It is The way Craig trained people that would have led to Dalu's death. If he wasn't in the enclosure with them he wouldn't be dead. I know a number of reputaable parks go in with their cats and maybe Ptig can confirm but I believe there is a certain number of keepers per tiger when interacting with them, keepers would never be alone in an enclosure with the animals. You have been mislead by the media and Craig's show sorry.
Sita was indeed to be mated with Jahdu. Tiger killed at Whangarei's Zion Wildlife Gardens - Story - Environment/Sci - 3 News I am imagining staff were present but I also dont see why they are trying to breed from her. What is the use? She was already half white tiger herself and as cool as white tigers are to look at i still stand by the fact they are not natural and have no reason to be bred.
They may not be natural but baby white tigers would of brought in lots of money. And with regards to the staff being there for the initial introductions, I know from personally seeing it but when Chester introduce there animals the keepers are there for hours watching and they also where possible have the animals in enclosures next to each other so they can get used to each other. I seriously doubt with the way Patricia Busch is running Zion whether that happened. Also doesnt solve the point of why put a young female in with a fully grown male other then the need for gaining money via babies. We know the park since Craig has been sacked has underfed the animals(There are official reports stating the fact), teaching Tigers to climb the fences for food(There are pictures showing the fact) and have also been letting the animals run around while the public have been there. To me that shows that current Management are not interested in the welfare of the animals just the money they can generate. And to prove that point the person they brought in to replace has been quoted on record of saying White Tigers shouldnt exist. Well there going to right way to remove them - 1 killed by a Cattle Prod/Shotgun and a Magnum(One shot from either gun should of been enough with competent employee's), 1 Gene carrier killed by another White Tiger(what will they now do with him?). Craig's methods aren't the best for conservation but at least the animals were alive and healthy when he was in charge.
Yes but at least the cats are now capable of climbing now that The Barbaric practice of de-clawing the cats isn`t been done any more now that Craig has gone!
He had stopped declawing the cats years before he was sacked. And teaching Tigers to climb to the top of the fences (basically over the fences) with the thought of food is down right ludicrous. What happens when they see a kid and climb over the fence? Would that be Craigs fault? Because it would certainly be his name dragged through the mud for it.
Get real how can somebody`s name that doesn`t have any links with a place get dragged through the mud if something happens just because they used to own the place. Yes but he brought into the practice of de-clawing in the first place it wasn`t the current owners it was Craig doesn`t matter if he stopped the practice he still did it. As for the cats climbing the fence it could happen but the it might never happen,they could just as easily dig under the fence and get out that way and get a kid,its easy to debate what ifs that haven`t happened!
Were you at the park when the introductions were made? Do you know if staff were present when the attack happened? You don't know what happened and neither do I. Cattle Prod would only work if the cats were close to the fence (and I saw some of the enclosures Craig had, when he was around the cats had no choice but to be close to a fence. Shotgun? Magnum? ;Little excessive, and very dangerous. Zoos often use a deadly drug to people. if it has to be used on animals on display while the public is in the zoo staff will actually block roads for the duration of the procedure to ensure there are no public nearby jiust in case, and also in case they do need to shoot the animal. Also peopl have been killed by falling Bullets, you need to be careful with that kind of thing.
I visisited the park several times when they were mating those tigers, and I saw them mating too. they simply left them in the pen right under Patricia's house for the day and left them to it. No keeper with them, and usually often only one or two keepers in the whole park anyway. Male tigers often kill other tigers if left with them, so no surprise really that he killed her. As for breeding more white tigers, well Zion thinks they can make money out of selling white lions and tigers, since they sure cant make much money out of anything else they are doing. the biggest problem with Zion is the present managment, who will not listne to advice, they have had a couple of the best zoo people in the world telling them how to run the place but they ignore that and do their own thing. the managmeent is also quite paranoid about almost everything, they have a paranoia about spies and people spreading gossip, maybe they think Craig is stirring up trouble to get the park back. But Craid doesnt want the park back. Now the laws have been changed stopping people form being in the same cage as big cats that has ceased his big cat encounters and his Tv work, which was where he made the money. they wont make much money out of their huge entry fees, what family can afford those prices. Eventually i can see the place just running out of money and when it does there is only one place for most of those cats. the demand for declawed big catrs, even white ones, isnt that big.
The "Lion Man" leaving has nothing to do with injuries and deaths to both people and animals... I went a few years ago, I had serious safety concerns at the time but my girlfriend shot me evil looks whenever I started to rock the boat... There is no reason they should be breeding animals, they don't have enough space as is... IMHO opinion they need to shut the park down...
visited Zion last week, enjoyed ourselves but think things could be done a little differently if they shut the park down what happens to the cats?
if they shut it down there is only one thing that could happen to most of them, the leopard and serval would be easily taken by other zos I think. White tigers might be in some demand overseas, but the lions would only have one place to go. Declawed lions, including white ones, are not high on the list of big cats in demand.
Oh I see. No problem there Steve. NZJeremy had an opinion fair enough. They're doing their best at the park considering the circumstances their job has not been made easy by the rumours or the apparent revelations of this happening and that happening. The team there are all good people and they are concerned about the welfare of the cats that's for sure. Those cats are taken care of - despite claims to the contrary by some factions.
yes people express their opinions about something should be shut down but don't consider what would happen to the animals if it happened like the call by some to shut down zoos and return animals to the wild not considering if the animals would survive or what is truly "the wild" nowadays
I think we all have opinions on something at one time or another. I know firsthand the cats are being properly taken care of. MAF does the inspections that's a fact. The cats could never be released anyway. At least 25 at the park are declawed. Only Four of the wild pride have their claws., plus Mandla the Black Leopard, the Servals Zoe and Silas and the two Cheetah Kenya and Thabo. I just would point out that how could Kiwipo have seen the incident with Jahdu and Sita when it was the first time they had been put in together? Because it was. Their introduction had been done over the course of weeks. And there were members of the team present.
I knew exactly what would happen to the cats if they shut the park down Felix, the overwhelming majority of them would be put down... At the time I wrote that post, I believe, it was before the park was confirmed as being in long term MAF adminstration... The cats at the time I visited were dangerous to staff and the public (I haven't been since MAF took over and can't comment now)... But human life is more important than animal life and if animals are kept in very substandard enclosures (bordering on cruel) and have no quality of life, are in danger from other cats due to overcrowding and are a danger to staff and visitors alike it is in the best interests of everyone to move on...
