Take A Walk On The Wild Side - Online Zoo and Aquatic Park Magazine

January 2009

Koshka Packs Her Bags for Denver
Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo prepares for another chapter in the 'Great Tiger Exchange'

Koshka, pronounced Koosh'-kuh, a three and a half year old female Siberian tiger born here, is leaving Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo headed for The Denver Zoo. She is scheduled to leave on or about December 15th (weather permitting).

Koshka's departure comes on the heels of a similar exodus by her brother Viktor, transferred to The Detroit Zoo last month. Nikka, their sister, will be leaving Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo for the Potter Park Zoo in Lansing, Michigan in March 2009.

"We have all seen her and her siblings grow up here at the Zoo and now it'll be everyone's last chance to see her here, so why20not bring the kids and come give Koshka a special send off?" encourages Gregg Dancho, director, Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo. "And don't forget to sign her bon voyage card! But don't get your fur in a frenzy, because in exchange for these majestic beauties leaving us, Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo will be welcoming two new tigers from zoos around the country." Koshka's going away card is located in the carousel building.

A male tiger by the name of Booski is due to arrive mid-winter from The Detroit Zoo. And the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York is sending another female tiger to Connecticut's only zoo this coming spring. The hope is that the new male and female tigers will breed sometime next year.

The tiger exchange is part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' (AZA) Special Survival Plan (SSP). The mission of the AZA SSP Program is to help ensure the survival of selected wildlife species. The program started in 1981 as a cooperative population management and conversation program for selected species in zoos and aquariums in North America.

Each SSP manag es the breeding of a species in order to maintain a healthy and self-sustaining population that is both genetically diverse and demographically stable. Most of the species in the program are endangered or threatened in the wild.

Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo is proud to be a part of conservation programs that are making sure we will be able to appreciate and learn from these incredible animals for generations to come.