August 8, 2011
Things are pretty quiet here right now. The heat is making everybody a little sleepy, and as anyone who has a cat can tell you, cats are world-class sleepers. Where prey is abundant, big cats can rest 19 or 20 hours a day. Smaller cats that are making smaller, more frequent kills spend more time hunting and less time sleeping. But even living in a territory with sparser game, big cats will rest an enviable 14 hours a day. The tigers here don’t have to hunt for a living so they can indulge in as many naps as they wish.
Believe it or not, young Damai did get to do a little moose hunting recently. There are a number of FONZ Summer Safari campers here at the Zoo and a group of them made Damai a wonderful moose out of paper towel rolls and other materials. The campers were all in front of the exhibit to see her tear her prey apart.
When I let her out, she found the moose immediately. But Damai is a full-grown tiger now and she was more interested in smelling all the places Guntur had visited when he was in the yard in the morning than she was in "killing" her moose. The campers were very patient, however, and their patience was rewarded.
After Damai had convinced herself that this handsome smelling tiger was not in the yard, she went to work on her moose. She grabbed it and rolled around with it in her front paws and raked its belly with the claws of her rear feet. This is a common killing technique with all cats, and you may have seen your pet cat do this to its toys. She had a great time with the moose. Thanks to the campers who made it!
Now about that handsome young tiger that Damai was looking for. Guntur and Damai have certainly shown an interest in each other. But with captive tigers it is very important to maintain as much genetic diversity as possible. There are probably fewer than 600 Sumatran tigers in the world; fewer than half of them are in captivity.
We participate in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan (SSP) for Sumatran tigers. For each SSP, there is a "studbook" with details about the pedigrees and demographic history of the captive animals of that species. This information helps determine which animals will make good genetic matches for each other.
Since we have been very fortunate with our breeding success here, it is difficult to find a mate for Guntur who is genetically “distant” enough to be a good match. So Guntur will be moving to Zoorasia in Yokohama, Japan, later this year. It will be hard to see him go, but it is what is best for him and also what is best for tigers as a species.
The good news is that a male tiger will be coming here from another zoo. We hope that he and Damai will hit it off and that our success with breeding tigers will continue.
I’ll keep you posted as plans become more concrete, but we will definitely be waiting for cooler weather. Hope you’re staying cool!
 Read the previous tiger diary. |
