Tikal Photos! - Jaguar Enjoying His New Home

A friend of mine was lucky enough to see Tikal, our new Jaguar.  She let me share her photos. Thank you Grace!  Aside from one in the email newsletter, I haven't seen any of him in his SFZoo enclosure, so this is a treat!  I can't wait to see him myself!  

Hi Tikal!

She said, he is gorgeous, and was interested in seeing his neighbor Raj, the male Snow Leopard.  She was surprised by how much of his tail is missing.  I mentioned in a previous post, without going into detail that he and the female in Sacramento didn't get along.  What I didn't say, but will now be obvious, was that she actually bit his tail off.  I felt very sad for him hearing that. Poor guy. Thankfully he survived that attack.  

After seeing my friends photo of his tail, it's shorter than even I imagined.  The female really did a number on him.  I hope we don't acquire her.  He don't need to see her ever again, even through caging.

I also hope I never see a Jaguar tail being hauled out for education.  That would be in severe poor taste.  I've seen docents in the past stand right in front of the Snow Leopards with a tail, and it's disturbing.   Recounting that now reminds me of the time, the Lion paws were brought out and the cart keepers held it up so people could high five it.  It was disrespectful and horrifying.

Hoping I see him tomorrow.  I love him already and have affectionately dubbed him our sweet Bobuar 😊   

Check back here tomorrow evening, I aim to get video of him to share and if I do will link it here.

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It's All Happening At Cats!

So, a week ago today I learned that the male Jaguar, Tikal was going to be temporarily housed in Cat E, the original Snow Leopard area where the Twins were living. The Twins have been moved to an off exhibit enclosure at FCC. ... There is still conflicting information whether the move truly is temporary, and he will eventually move into one of the expanded Cat yards, or whether E will be his permanent home.

On Monday I was told Tikal would be moved to the enclosure the next day.  Hoping to catch a glimpse of him, I went round on Tuesday, but learned he wasn't in quarantine as some staff thought, but on his way from Sacramento.  I finished a good walk round and went by in case he got there and was possibly let out into enclosure to stretch his legs after being crated and on the road.  The van was arriving as I approached, so I watched them unload the crate, and waited a bit, but gate never opened.  

Welcome Tikal!

There was an event scheduled that evening for donors, so I figured they were probably waiting for that, so to get a first glance.   On cue like that should not be depended on, and as such I heard he never came out.  

He also never came out the three hours I circled about on my walk round yesterday.  I tried, and hoped as the sun shined brighter it would lure him out, but it didn't.  I was told he came out in early am for a quick sniff of his new home, but went back to night quarters.  Can't wait to meet him, fingers crossed for next week!

I posted an update to a previous post when I got home Monday, as I had learned a few things, related to information I posted.

>> Updated 5.9.23 ... I have learned that while this pair was a breeding pair at Sacramento Zoo, their union was allegedly unsuccessful. This aligns with why only the male has been acquired by SFZoo.  So, I'm assuming maybe this pair is being split-up, and a compatible female is still being identified. <<

While circling the area, I was also unsuccessful in catching a glimpse of the new lady Ocelot, Tica.  I've hear she was only seen out once.  I read that she was not on public view in last two previous homes, so that explains her shyness.  Might be a long time before we see her.  

In encouraging news, it seems a companion for Jasiri could be happening very soon!

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Blogger's Statement

"Personal Opinions and Facts presented publicly are Not against the law or any rules. ... Censorship and Retaliation Actions in an attempt at Suppression are frowned upon by Healthy Societies."

For Full Statement see this post:

https://iamnotananteater.blogspot.com/2018/09/my-zoo-status.html

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Update On Big Cats ... New Pix Of Jasiri

After my post last week about the Big Cat enclosures, I had an immediate after thought.  If two Jaguars are coming, and there is now only one enclosure, that possibly means one will always be off exhibit.  

I know nothing about housing of Jaguars, so I checked the AZA Care Manual and learned the specifics.

I inquiried with Sacramento Zoo how these two are housed, together or rotated.  Most of the photos posted by the Zoo and Visitors are of the female, which leads me to believe they do not co-habitate.  SacZoo never responded.

It's curious SFZoo would even get a breeding pair as longtime rumor is Director Peterson allegedly does not want to breed much, especially large Animals.  Who knows, but that definitely leads to never breeding Tigers Jillian and Teddy, therefore causing them to be transferred out.  As well, SF Received female Gorilla Kimani on a breeding recommendation and three years later she was allegedly still on birth control, although I have not inquired recently.  Our male will be 42 in July, what are they waiting for?

Back to Jaguars.  So, the ZooFest Auction noted in my previous post, included the item of ReNaming "our new Jaguars".  Someone told me they heard we would only be getting one, and another maybe later.  That aligns with the recent Joint Zoo Committee notation of only a male.

So back to what would the housing be if SF does ends up with a breeding pair.  Will one be stuck in the Lion House half the time?  Assuming they would rotate them both to yard every day.  If the female gets pregnant, will that arrangement still work until any offspring are able to go outside, or will the male be moved off exhibit to FCC as soon as she's pregnant?  Either way, he will most likely be moved indefinitely at some point.

I really wish more thought had gone into expanding the Cat yards and only one was done.  We need three enclosures, how Director Peterson didn't understand this is beyond me.  

Lion Jasiri remains alone, and allegedly no companion has been identified.  

I did recently see Jasiri up for a few minutes as I approached the enclosure.   It was good to see him in motion. ... This morning I saw photos from last weekends ZooFest.  The photographer got some nice ones of him.  I haven't seen him at the window in over a year, so these were a treat!   I have only seen him (and/or Sukari) on the A yard side once since the expansion, and that was only because of enrichment placed there for Sukari's Birthday.

screencaps from drewalitzer.com

Related Post

https://iamnotananteater.blogspot.com/2023/04/status-at-big-cats.html

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Blogger's Statement

"Personal Opinions and Facts presented publicly are Not against the law or any rules. ... Censorship and Retaliation Actions in an attempt at Suppression are frowned upon by Healthy Societies."

For Full Statement see this post:

https://iamnotananteater.blogspot.com/2018/09/my-zoo-status.html

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Status At Big Cats > Updated 5.9.23

As of two weeks ago, male Lion Jasiri was still alone, and the second expanded Cat Yard remained empty.  

Here is my post from last month regarding Jasiri.

https://iamnotananteater.blogspot.com/2023/03/concerns-for-our-lone-lion-how-long.html

At that time there seemed to be mixed knowledge of the future of Cats at our SFZoo.  Will they or won't they acquire a companion for Jasiri, which is my main concern, and another Cat species for the empty enclosure.

My take on the lack of information, is that it's rooted in the mismanagement cog that is the lack of communication to and among staff. I've asked this question on posts before and I'll ask it again, Why is everything a secret?  If upper management is actively searching for a companion for Jasiri, why isn't that common knowledge?  

That all said, it was pointed out to me last night that this appeared on the Zoo's Auction site.

I was surprised to learn this as the long-time rumor has been that the Zoo Director allegedly did not want to aquire anymore Big Cats and specifically Tigers after losing our Tigers to San Diego.  That happened as a result of San Diego owned Teddy being moved to SF for breeding with our Jillian, but after several years that didn't happen, so allegedly SDZ repossessed Teddy, taking Jillian with him, as both were very high on genetically valuable list.

As you can see, as with every Animal that moves to SFZoo, the Jaguars will have their identity stolen and be renamed.  I hate it, and that's no secret!

This is the female, Sasha. ... See Update at end of post.

screencap from 

Sacramento Zoo Facebook

This is the male Tikal.

screencap from Flickr user Elena

(who like me, is a fan of Zoo Friend history.

I've been following her for many years.

View her photostream, especially 

if you're a fan of Big Cats!)

I am looking forward to meeting these two beauties.  I've been a long-time admirer of this species, but never had the pleasure of meeting a traditional colored Jaguar.  The Zoo had a black Jaguar named Sabrina for many years who was a favorite of mine.

I encourage you to preserve their identity and greet them using their real names.

And now we wait for news of a companion for Jasiri.

Updated 5.9.23 ... I have learned that while this pair was a breeding pair at Sacramento Zoo, their union was allegedly unsuccessful. This aligns with why only the male has been acquired by SFZoo.  So, I'm assuming maybe this pair is being split-up, and a compatible female is still being identified.

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Blogger's Statement

"Personal Opinions and Facts presented publicly are Not against the law or any rules. ... Censorship and Retaliation Actions in an attempt at Suppression are frowned upon by Healthy Societies."

For Full Statement see this post:

https://iamnotananteater.blogspot.com/2018/09/my-zoo-status.html

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