Amur tiger arrives at zoo; mate to follow
The Erie Zoo is getting some new stripes.
Anastasia, a 10-year-old Amur tiger, arrived at the Erie Zoo on Thursday from the Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, Conn.
She made the eight-hour trip with two of her keepers in a specially designed truck.
Anastasia will be joined in a few weeks by a male Amur tiger from the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago.
The two will go on display to the public in mid-June.
Anastasia's arrival marks the first time the Erie Zoo has had an Amur tiger.
Amur tigers are the world's largest cats. Males can weigh as much as 500 pounds. Anastasia weighs about 200 pounds. The Amur tigers are an endangered species, with an estimated 400 believed to be left in the wild.
The species received some notoriety after an Amur tiger escaped from its enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo on Dec. 25 and killed a man.
The Erie Zoo is in the process of building a $400,000 enclosure with a 16-foot high wall to contain the animals. The bottom eight feet will be glass, allowing visitors to get close to the cats.
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums has approved Anastasia and her new partner for breeding.
Anastasia has successfully raised cubs before. She had a litter of four cubs four years ago. Three survived.
"She's an excellent mother," said Gregg Dancho, the director of the Beardsley Zoo. "She's a wonderful cat -- she's always been a joy to watch."
He said the Amur tigers are one of the favorite animals on exhibit at the Beardsley Zoo. The zoo still has two of her cubs, he said.
"We'll miss her, but people understand this is a move meant to improve chances of survivability of the species," he said.
Mitchell said the zoo hasn't had tiger cubs in more than 25 years.
"This is our first foray back into tiger breeding," he said.
The pair will be introduced slowly over the next few months before being allowed to roam their new exhibit together. The tigers will go on display in mid-June, when the new exhibit is complete, Mitchell said.
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080405/NEWS02/804050358/-1...
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
