London Zoo tiger killed by new male on first meeting

[Vinorosso74]

Sumatran tiger killed by potential mate on first meeting in London zoo

www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/08/sumatran-tiger-killed-by-potential-mate-on-first-meeting-in-london-zoo?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard

Shocked and upset by this. I saw her on a few visits along with her cubs and previous mate Jae Jae.
I'm not sure what to think. I would hope the zoo knew what they were doing but 10 days doesn't seem that long for an introduction (from physical separation) considering it can take longer to introduce domestic cats to each other.....
RIP beautiful Melati

The article that I read said her previous mate was only moved away about a week ago - my thinking was, "Well of course she wasn't going to get along with a replacement so quickly!" But maybe I'm being silly in applying human thoughts and behaviours to a wild animal.

Very depressing.

Poor girl.

Irrational as this sounds, but I'm pretty angry with the male tiger. How could he?

Why do tigers kill potential mates?

I don’t fully understand the logistics of keepers being in the vacinity when these introductions happen but couldn’t they aim a tranquilliser dart/gun and use it in these circumstances?

I didn’t get it either. Surely it would have been an known risk. They said on news they tried to distracted him with loud noises, which obviously didn’t work.

That's really sad

I wonder why he was so aggressive?

They knew it was high risk so I don't understand why the separation wasn't in place longer until they adjusted to each other more.
I don't k ow much about natural wild tiger behaviour but at least in the wild a female would have places to run to escape. In an enclosure, no. I think a tranquilizer gun should have been there ready to use as soon as any signs of aggression were apparent.

Big cats quite frequently kill each other especially over territory.

Such a waste. A life killed whilst trying to make a life

They've already had a Komodo dragon die for similar reasons, although she fell to her death climbing a wall separating her from her potential mate. Komodo dragons are monitor lizards. There are tree monitors. Ergo, Komodo dragons may be able to climb. The staff at London Zoo are supposed to be experts.

Bloody hell. Couldn't use link but that's very sad. I wonder if zoo keepers were pushed into introduction for PR purposes, it would be very irresponsible considering such an endangered species. I'm surprised no pond involved either (sarcasm).

This has made me so cross.

They’ve had little over a week to get to know each other in different enclosures. That’s no time at all. Anyone who has introduced domestic cats would know that, let alone people working with animals on a daily basis.

The telegraph says:

’Zoo staff desperately tried to distract Asim with loud noises, flares and alarms but he overpowered Melati and killed her’

So basically they were completely unprepared and unable to control the introduction. Completely avoidable death.

So so sad.

She’d already had seven cubs.

Why wasn’t that good enough? They could’ve let her retire in peace. Now she’s dead.

It seems a shockingly inept and ill thought out decision on the part of the London Zoo “experts”. How sad.

The staff at London Zoo are supposed to be experts.

Hmm I know someone who worked there, he told me about a previous incident 😡 We, the public, don't know half of what goes on.

Hmmm well if London Zoo launch a dating app I would strongly suggest giving it a pass.....

Seriously though, zoos work together on breeding to ensure the survival of the species. This is terribly sad but it happens in the wild. Awful for the keepers who will have loved poor Melati.

I was just reading this sad tale on the bbc news site. Awful.

They had some tiger facts listed, one of which is: a tiger can leap forward from sitting 33 feet (10 metres). That is mad. Bonkers.

It really upset me. She should have been safe in a zoo of all places. Poor Melati.

Sounds like they messed up the introduction. A week isn't long enough as the male wouldn't have had enough time to have settled in. They're powerful animals, not domestic cats.

Ugh, treating her like a brood mare and rushing the introduction

And as a PP has mentioned, surely seven cubs is a sufficient legacy.

That poor, beautiful girl.

They let her down big time. Also read that her cub accidentally drowned. In a zoo. With cameras.

The very sad thing is that this has happened before when zoos tried to introduce tigers above the age of 3 to other tigers. I remember at least three cases where the female tiger ended dead. Do people working for zoos not learn from these events?

Melati and Jae were a wonderful couple and it would have been wonderful if they had kept them together and maybe spay them.

Concerning the tiger that killed Melati: I guess that they will move him to a different zoo and replace him with two younger tigers hoping that they will mate and have cubs.

As in nature, so in the human world.