The Toronto Zoo would be remiss to say that they were cupable in the death of Brytne, a 13-year-old female tiger, by her potential mate and suitor, a 3 year old male Sumatran tiger -Harimau Kayu – imported from the San Diego Wild Animal Park in June for a breeding program, but aren’t they?
Officials from the zoo reported that the tigers were beginning to get to know each other better prior to the accident via a wire mesh that separated them. However on Thursday when they were placed in the same space together, Harimau Kayu got into a fight with his potential mate and killed her within seconds. Zoo officials said the killing happened within an instant and though they were parted rather quickly the blow had already been dealt to the female tiger.
Maria Franke, curator of mammals at the Toronto Zoo said “There was nothing that was not done properly here,” she said. “The keepers are the heroes in this situation, they acted promptly. This is just really bad luck. The keepers that work with the animals on a daily basis are pretty shaken up and it’s never easy.”
Though zoos have a very important purposes ‘for humans’ (educating people with live subjects, on animal behaviors, social interactions and conservation) one must consider that they are also elaborate prisons for the animals. It it curious to consider under what circumstances would those two tigers would have had a meeting such as this in the wild, and whether that meeting would have resulted in a death. How can zookeepers know exactly when is the best time for two wild animals to engage in a mutual exchange such as this, considering the impact of incarceration on their psyches. No one can know for sure the trauma either of the animals faced the very day of their interaction, for all that is known, it may have very well been a bad day for one or both of them. What we know now is that it is a bad day for Toronto Zoo.
Animals in captivity have to endure many environmental changes that their wild counterparts don’t, such as; skewed social interactions with gawking humans, being fed by humans; having their food served to them unnaturally, exposure to unnatural practices and environmental enclosures; limitations to natural habitat, having mates chosen for them and enduring the conditions of many limitations. It is no surprise that animals which live in zoos die prematurely.
A study found that: African elephants in the wild live more than three times as long as those kept in zoos. Even Asian elephants working in timber camps live longer than those born in zoos. (R Clubb et al. Compromised survivorship in zoo elephants. Science, Vol 322, 12.12.08) 40% of lion cubs die before one month of age. In the wild, only 30% of cubs are thought to die before they are six months old and at least a third of those deaths are due to factors which are absent in zoos, like predation. (G Mason & R Clubb. Guest Editorial. International Zoo News, Vol 51, No 1 (2004))
When observing the death of Brytne, we all should truly consider under what circumstances in the wild would this kind of interaction have taken place; and would Brytne have known whether to stay away from Harimau Kayu in his state or not? Unfortunately, she was not given this option at the Toronto Zoo when zoo keepers artificially placed them in the same enclosure together.
About Author: Khamal Murray is a major in Bioethics & Heath Studies at the University of Toronto and a blogger/writer with http://thejuxtapositionape.blog.com and a special contributor with Alternavox Magazine
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