Tiger fatally mauls mate at San Diego Zoo

[TexasTowelie]

Source: AP

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The San Diego Zoo said Monday that a female Malayan tiger was fatally mauled by her intended mate during an attempt to breed.

The female tiger, named Tiga Tahun, died Saturday of neck injuries and breathing difficulties, the zoo said. It was the first breeding encounter for either animal, the only Malayan tigers at the facility. No visitors saw the attack.

&quot The encounter) began with positive interaction between the two big cats. Unfortunately this changed quickly and zookeepers were unable to separate the two animals," the zoo said in a statement.

The tigers had rotated between being on exhibit and in their bedrooms, making them familiar with the other's scent, zoo spokeswoman Jenny Mehlow said. They had seen each other often and even touched noses, separated by a barrier.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Tiger-fatally-mauls-mate-at-San-Diego-Zoo-5088658.php?cmpid=hpbn

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[mimi85]

1. I still think

these beautiful creatures should be left in the wild. The last time we went to the SD zoo, there was a camel in obvious distress just walking around in circles non-stop. Very sad. I understand wanting to save some animals from extinction and I don't have a problem with that. It's kind of like the elephants at a circus, depressing to see those wonderful animals trained to do "tricks" to supposedly amuse us.

There have been several instances of injuries and deaths at Sea World with the killer whales. So depressing.

[Humanist_Activist]

3. I agree except that "The Wild" is disappearing...

So, in many instances, these animals, and their species, aren't better off in "the wild" than in Zoos or wildlife parks. Sometimes the choices are either to have them in captivity, or let them go slowly extinct. Its a fucked up situation.

[TDale313]

4. Unfortunately true.

[closeupready]

5. Many of the big cats are likely to go extinct, sadly.

On the other hand, those like cougars, leopards, and lions seem to be doing okay, or even thriving.

If there is a consolation to the sad prospect of losing tigers, it's the knowledge that felines are a highly successful .... what's the term, family? .... family in the animal kingdom, and thus, after humans have killed themselves, felines will thrive, multiply, evolve into other forms of big cat.

The Earth is vitally alive, despite what sometimes seem like our best efforts to control or kill it.

[Humanist_Activist]

8. The proper name for the family is Felidae, which includes two subfamilies...

Pantherinae (which includes the tiger, the lion, the jaguar, and the leopard), and Felinae (which includes the cougar, the cheetah, the lynxes, the ocelot, and the domestic cat).

The Earth, I don't doubt, will survive us, it has a good billion years of life left to it before the sun snuffs that out through increasing temperatures. But in the much shorter term than that, we are contributing to the Sixth mass extinction, the Holocene Extinction. Whether we survive or not, who knows, I hope we wise up and leave the planet permanently and let its biosphere develop without our interference, or find ways to live sustainable on it without further damaging the ecosystems of the planet.

My biggest fear is that we end up not killing tigers, but ourselves in our own stupidity, we have lucked out so far, we have had a relatively stable climate, perfect to develop agriculture, civilization, and technology, for the past 10,000 years. If we fuck up the climate and biosphere too badly now and in the future, then you might as well kiss our asses goodbye, or, at least, be prepared for a great population reduction, and we aren't talking through generations, but decades.

ON EDIT: This may seem silly, but there's this evolutionary biologist on youtube that actually discusses the evolution of "Feliforme" i.e. the cats:

&list=PL0C606FE36BEDAC75

He talks kinda fast, and his channel is mostly to knock down creationist arguments, but there is a LOT of scientific information here, and its just cool. He has a video before this talking about the other great group the Caniformes, Dogs and Bears.

[Bradical79]

12. Yeah, zoo is better for some of these animals

When you figure in habitat loss and poachers...

[liberal_at_heart]

14. There are only a few thousand of them left in the wild. The wild ones will go extinct.

Zoos are important because they teach the public about wildlife. They also preserve species that are going extinct.

[TDale313]

2. Sadness :-(

[aaaaaa5a]

6. Nature isn't always nice or fair. nt

[Liberty Belle]

7. Sad. My daugter works at this zoo, and I know she'll be upset.

Most of the animals are cared for as well as possible in a zoo setting. The tigers have a "Tiger River" exhibit with water, rocks, forest...not a cage at least. Still it's not the wild, but some tiger species are nearly extinct in the wild so sadly this may be the safest place for many of them.

[Cha]

9. Damn! It is so

heartbreaking, TT.

[silverweb]

10. So sad!

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]San Diego has one of the best endangered breeding programs around, staffed with dedicated professionals, and I can only imagine how devastated they all are.

Such a tragic thing to have happen.

[Omaha Steve]

11. Omaha zoo tiger dies after being attacked by potential mate

Omaha zoo owned Tiga Tahun.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20131223/NEWS/131229540/1707#omaha-zoo-tiger-dies-after-being-attacked-by-potential-mate

[Pterodactyl]

13. "The most wonderful thing about Tiggers is that I'm the only one!"