Another Day at the Zoo

Yesterday I drove down to Howlett's in Kent in the hope of seeing their Siberian tigers. (They also have Bengals and Sumatrans, but they are not as likely to desport themselves to the public.)

There were plenty of other delights, such as this adorable Pallas cat, just taking in the view. So I took in the view back!













There were two tiny baby Sulawesi crested macaques.




I was very lucky to see one of the elusive clouded leopards in a brief appearance.




The Red River Hogs had three adorable stripey hoglets.



Malchek the huge but ageing Siberian tiger was pacing along by the entrance to another part of his enclosure where the keepers were cleaning out and then getting some food ready. I think he would have settled for some keeper...










He took his lump of horse back to his little hut, and the keeper opened the shutter to check on him. Malchek took a while to notice, but when he raised his head to roar, it was worth every penny of the entrance fee (OK, I went in free because I give them a monthly subscription, but it would have been worth every penny if I had paid).

When I mentioned the sad story of the male Siberian tiger shot dead in Germany because a stupid keeper left the gate open and he killed her, I was deeply saddened to learn that the victim (not the stupid woman, the tiger) was one of Malchek's cubs, the cub that carries the GIANT gene of the descendents of the mighty Balkash, who also killed a keeper but lived to tell the tale, because the zoo authorties realised that it was not his fault.

I spent many happy hours watching the cub a few years ago, playing with his brother and bullying his sister. The only good thing is that he did father some cubs before he was slaughtered, so the giant gene might have been passed on.