Animal Advocates Watchdog

Tiger cub dies at Calgary Zoo

http://www.theprovince.com/travel/Tiger+dies+Calgary/3491748/story.html

Tiger cub dies at Calgary Zoo
Calgary HeraldSeptember 7, 2010

CALGARY — Another animal has died at the Calgary Zoo.

Zookeepers found a newborn Siberian tiger cub dead in its cage on Tuesday along with its seriously injured twin.

Officials said zoo staff didn't know that Katja, the 10-year-old mother tiger, was pregnant until they found the dead and injured cubs.

The surviving newborn is being cared for at the zoo's Animal Health Centre, officials said.

The unexpected birth comes less than three months after a scathing report showed a high number of human-related animal deaths have been plaguing the Calgary Zoo in recent years. In the days after the report, the zoo immediately began putting in place a sweeping plan to address the concerns.

The report found that 170 bats were killed by a sharp wire in their enclosure set up for visitors' better viewing, while a monkey was killed when a mousetrap fell on its head, and a tiny marsupial was stepped on and crushed to death. In 2008, an entire cow nose ray exhibit was wiped out because of human error.

Critics say the surprise tiger pregnancy highlights some of the ongoing issues at the zoo.

"This is exactly the kind of thing they were criticized for," said Zoocheck's Julie Woodyer.

"Whether people are not paying attention with security, or animal health issues, or in this case, their own breeding program — it's incompetent," said Woodyer.

In January, nine-year-old Baikal was brought to Calgary from New York's Bronx Zoo as part of the species survival plan as a mate for Katja, who was born at the Calgary Zoo in 2000.

The pregnancy surprised staff because Baikal was suffering from arthritic hips, zoo officials said. The male tiger had surgery in May to reduce the pain.

"This birth occurred about 90 days after Baikal's surgery so clearly it achieved what we had hoped," said Dr. Sandie Black, head of veterinary services.

Siberian tigers are considered endangered.

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