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TRAVEL PREP FOR DEPARTING TIGER IS EXTENSIVE

ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO MAKE JOURNEY TO NEW ZOO AS SMOOTH AS POSSIBLE, WRITES MICHELLE LOVERING

MICHELLE LOVERING Column Michelle Lovering is supervisor, Wildlife Care, at Toronto Zoo.

It all begins with a "Travel Recommendation."

Many of the animals in human care at the Toronto Zoo are part of AZA Species Survival Plans (SSPs) — this council of experts carefully monitors all animals of a certain taxa in North American zoo's and suggests animal transfers based on a variety of criteria including genetic relatedness, age, and location.

In late 2021, when Amur tiger Mila was only 6 months old, the Amur tiger SSP recommended that she move to Cheyenne

Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs (a young male, and future partner, also received a recommendation).

The animal transfer process may start years before the actual travel booking occurs. In Mila's case, the endangered species paperwork was expected to take at least a year to be approved by all government parties, and so she received her transfer recommendation well before she was ready to leave her mom.

In liaison with Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, our Animal Logistics Coordinator

began the transfer process by applying for CITES permits: special documents (similar to a passport) that protected species (like Amur tigers) need to cross international borders. This past January, Mila's permits were approved ... and the rest of the travel logistics began.

Careful consideration was needed to determine which transport option is the best. Not unlike our own travel plans, we look at which is the fastest route or which has the fewest layovers and that will determine if a flight is booked or a zoo-specific ground transporter. Location is also really important. There are a limited number of "ports of entry" that are equipped to approve animals entering the country.

To prepare for the shipment itself, we borrowed a tiger crate from Granby Zoo, which arrived on-site

in January. Crate training started with Mila seeing the new crate outside the habitat for a few days before we moved it in to the tiger building and secured it to a specially-designed transfer door in one of the tiger bedrooms.

Mila was slowly introduced

to the crate, but a history of positive reinforcement came in handy: the first time she was given access to the crate, she went in readily and was rewarded with her favourite treat: meaty strips.

Over the coming weeks, she will be rewarded for spending increasing amounts of time in the crate, with the goal of having her as comfortable as possible when travel day arrives.

Wildlife Care staff are working with our veterinary technician to obtain a voluntary blood sample. Zoos often perform extensive health testing to ensure an animal is fit to travel and that there is minimal risk of issues on arrival at their new home.

Keepers have also filled out an Animal Data Transfer Sheet, to communicate all the pertinent information and specific facts (or quirks) Mila has to her new team in Colorado.

The ultimate goal of all of these preparations is to make Mila's journey as smooth as possible, so that she can contribute to the next generation of Amur tigers and help fight extinction.

Opinion

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2023-03-23T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-23T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://communitynews.pressreader.com/article/281625309549198

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