RIP Sasha - Colchester's White Tiger

not Sasha :( I loved him soooo much!!!!


:(:(:(


It's not long since they lost their baby hippo either! Poor people!
 
That's sad, sure I had a piccy of him, but CD's don't hold data like they should do.
 
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Just Dave said:
yeah sad he was in captivity anyway, :( no life that is it
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I agree in a way. Although both my kids and I have enjoyed seeing animals from all over the world, it still doesn't sit right somehow. Colchester Zoo promotes conservation which I suppose eases my mind ( http://www.colchester-zoo.com/index.cfm?fa=content.list&page=199&section=5 ), but I still feel a little uncomfortable when visiting. Even worse is the victrorian exhibits of stuffed animals at my local museum I suppose? :shrug:
 
Taking a deep breath, pausing and stepping in, I'd like to offer the opinion that we don't actually know what "wild" animal species think about living in captivity - do we know if animals think anything beyond "find shelter/procreate/where's my next meal?"

Although we never took our children to either zoo or safari park it occurs to me that no zoo animal will ever die of hunger, never die through injuries sustained in fighting, never be trapped and killed for body parts and never be maimed by a hunter. So maybe it isn't such a bad life for them after all?

And, as seems to be the fate of some tiger populations, a species is in danger of dying out due to poaching/loss of habitat, wouldn't it make sense to preserve the species in zoos/safari parks? Or should we just le them go?
 
tikkathreebarrel said:
never die through injuries sustained in fighting
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I used to visit Colchester Zoo regularly when I lived darn saff There were two white tigers that used to share the outside space till someone decided to try to put them in together and Sasha killed the other white tiger.
 
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Colchester zoo is local to me. It has improved a lot over the years but the last time I went there was still a bear pacing up and down in an enclosure that didnt look big enough for him so there is still work to be done. I'm sorry they have lost another animal- he was a magnificent looking cat.
 
Thats really sad:crying: , I have never been to Colchester Zoo so have not seen her

As for the arguement over keeping animals in zoos, I think they more than justify their existance through the program of breeding rare animals . our local zoo , Chester has had a lot of success:)
 
a sad day indeed, what a magnificent cat, I haven't been to Colchester Zoo since 1999
it's local to me as well
:)
 
Very very sad, since getting together 9 years ago me and the missus have been frequent visitors to Colchester Zoo and Sasha was always on our list of who to go and see. I took this photo the day before the snow, which is when his arthritis started playing up and they kept him in so its the most up to date one I have of him (from literally thousands)


Sasha

CGeezer said:
I used to visit Colchester Zoo regularly when I lived darn saff There were two white tigers that used to share the outside space till someone decided to try to put them in together and Sasha killed the other white tiger.
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Its not quite as straightforward as that. They were actually mating at the time and Sasha slipped and broke her neck, google and you'll see that happens in the wild and Sasha afterwards suffered bouts of depression over it.

Just Dave said:
yeah sad he was in captivity anyway, :( no life that is it
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You can argue that in captivity even with his medical problems he lived a lot longer and a lot more comfortably. White tigers come about through genetics which as a trade off gives a weakened immune system. Not only was Sasha perfectly comfortable and happy where he was (I've heard him purr!) but he was also doing great things for white tigers across the world. Have a look at the photo below from a special carnivore evening put on by the zoo, and Jez is happily holding his tail. Sasha was studied and gave blood to try and help other white tigers globally with problems.

 
Just Dave said:
yeah sad he was in captivity anyway, :( no life that is it
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I am 100% behind zoo's that are involved in conservation - look at the Aspinall parks and the work they have done taking gorilla's back into the wild and reintroducing rehabilitated wild gorillas... i.e.

http://www.aspinallfoundation.org/news/view/260/new-birth-to-reintroduced-gorilla-in-africa

To do this kind of conservation work all zoo's need to make money. I could bang on for ages about how immoral the selective breeding of white tigers has been in the past and the various medical problems it has caused - but once you have a white tiger the fact is he needs looking after and can be a big draw for the public. "White Tigers" don't exist as a subspecies and are not endangered - but they are beautiful animals and if Sasha was a draw for people to come to the zoo and pay their entrance fee then more power to him.

The idealistic view would be to prevent the poaching / deforestation / loss of habitat / disease / pollution etc etc but it's just not going to happen. Endangered species are a reality that aren't going to go away and zoo's can do fantastic work supporting conservation and educating the general public.

Being completely cold hearted Sasha's passing will allow the zoo to use his very nice enclosure 9one of the best in the zoo imo) for an animal that will benefit from conservation efforts.

CGeezer said:
I used to visit Colchester Zoo regularly when I lived darn saff There were two white tigers that used to share the outside space till someone decided to try to put them in together and Sasha killed the other white tiger.
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That was Anna - if you look around Sasha's enclosure you will find a plaque dedicating the enclosure to her.

ladysue said:
Colchester zoo is local to me. It has improved a lot over the years but the last time I went there was still a bear pacing up and down in an enclosure that didnt look big enough for him so there is still work to be done. I'm sorry they have lost another animal- he was a magnificent looking cat.
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If it was recently I assume it was the sun bears that you saw? They have recently moved from the Rare Species ANimal Centre in Kent (which I believe has closed) to Colchester and are in a temporary enclosure until their new one is built. Although I certainly havn't seen them pacing... only playing. I don't know when Colchester last had bears though so you might be talking about something else.
 
cw318is said:
Its not quite as straightforward as that. They were actually mating at the time and Sasha slipped and broke her neck
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No sorry, you are mistaken, Also it was Anna that died.

Colchester: Tiger killed in zoo tragedy
From the archive, first published Monday 29th Nov 1999.

Keepers at Colchester Zoo were still in a state of shock today after a male tiger killed its partner.

The keepers had been trying to get the Siberian white tigers together but, after ten minutes in the same compound, the male jumped on the female and grabbed her by the throat.

She was killed instantly.

There were six keepers on the scene at the time but despite using water, brooms and a dart gun, the male - called Sacha - managed to kill the female Anna.

The tragedy on Saturday morning took place before the Stanway zoo was open to the public and was part of a seven-day plan to get the tigers together. They have been at the zoo for 18 months and are both aged four.

It was the second day of the plan and the first attempt on Friday had been successful with the pair staying together for half an hour with few problems.

As the female was in season, the keepers thought it was potentially the right time to bring the pair together.

The same operation was repeated on Saturday but tragedy struck within minutes.

"We put them together with the intention of leaving them together for an hour," zoo boss Anthony Tropeano said.

"There were no problems in the first ten minutes but, at five past nine, the male jumped on her and grabbed her by the throat. The keepers used water and brooms to attempt to separate them, sadly unsuccessfully.

"We had a darting gun ready, so darted him. However, by the time the drug had an effect, it was too late," he added.

The male tiger weighs about 800lb and Mr Tropeano said the tranquillising dart would have taken between five and ten minutes to have any effect.

"It was not a fight that got out of control," he said.

"Zoos have been putting tigers together for years and a reaction like this is not regular. We have had no problems before and it was the standard procedure," Mr Tropeano said.

He added: "It was very distressing for the staff.

"Spare a thought for the keepers who took the decision to get these two animals together and will now, undoubtedly, feel responsible. We all do.

"The best way I can describe it is that, for some time, we will all feel the end of the world has come," Mr Tropeano said.
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CGeezer said:
No sorry, you are mistaken, Also it was Anna that died.
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Study the mating characteristics of tigers, its not uncommon with a tiger weighing 300kg+ but she died from a broken neck (not bitten or gauged throat)
 
Daysleeper40 said:
I am 100% behind zoo's that are involved in conservation - look at the Aspinall parks and the work they have done taking gorilla's back into the wild and reintroducing rehabilitated wild gorillas... i.e.

http://www.aspinallfoundation.org/news/view/260/new-birth-to-reintroduced-gorilla-in-africa

To do this kind of conservation work all zoo's need to make money. I could bang on for ages about how immoral the selective breeding of white tigers has been in the past and the various medical problems it has caused - but once you have a white tiger the fact is he needs looking after and can be a big draw for the public. "White Tigers" don't exist as a subspecies and are not endangered - but they are beautiful animals and if Sasha was a draw for people to come to the zoo and pay their entrance fee then more power to him.

The idealistic view would be to prevent the poaching / deforestation / loss of habitat / disease / pollution etc etc but it's just not going to happen. Endangered species are a reality that aren't going to go away and zoo's can do fantastic work supporting conservation and educating the general public.

Being completely cold hearted Sasha's passing will allow the zoo to use his very nice enclosure 9one of the best in the zoo imo) for an animal that will benefit from conservation efforts.



That was Anna - if you look around Sasha's enclosure you will find a plaque dedicating the enclosure to her.



If it was recently I assume it was the sun bears that you saw? They have recently moved from the Rare Species ANimal Centre in Kent (which I believe has closed) to Colchester and are in a temporary enclosure until their new one is built. Although I certainly havn't seen them pacing... only playing. I don't know when Colchester last had bears though so you might be talking about something else.
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Sorry you are right it wasnt a bear I saw pacing. It was in a cage where the bear used to live ( a big brown bear I think it was but that was years ago). The animal I saw pacing in there I think was a leopard.It was one day last summer when they had a special day for some rare leopards but this leopard wasnt included.So maybe it was just a temporary thing.
 
ladysue said:
Sorry you are right it wasnt a bear I saw pacing. It was in a cage where the bear used to live ( a big brown bear I think it was but that was years ago). The animal I saw pacing in there I think was a leopard.It was one day last summer when they had a special day for some rare leopards but this leopard wasnt included.So maybe it was just a temporary thing.
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That was Dende, an amur leopard. Lovely cat and again has been helping other leopards by being studied for heart murmour which apparently is a big problem for leopards. The original plan was to breed him and Milena the female from Marwell but they couldn't as he only has one testicle so they got Sayan instead from Mullhouse Zoo in France.
 
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