padang

i ended on a feline note, so i'll continue with big cats. mentioning the cublets, i mentioned padang, who lived in the enclosure the cubs grew up in, prior to their birth. when they outgrew that area she reclaimed her home. padang is a nineteen year old female sumatran. she lives in this enclosure solo as she had an early (before she came to sfzoo) injury to her front paw, which may prevent her from properly defending herself in an aggressive situation. i mention this and her age (as aging cats do thin out), as even though her story is posted outside her enclosure, every time i visit her, i hear people say with negativity "why is she alone?" and/or "why is she so skinny, don't they feed her?" the latter a clear ignorant comment propelled by the tatiana event. padang seems to be a sweet and happy girl. since she has been back home, an old fenced window to the neighboring enclosure has been opened and a special podium made for her to have viewing access to her neighbors. while in lock down (during the grotto construction) in the lion house after the tatiana event, padang and tony, tatiana's companion became sweet on each other and can be seen greeting each other at the window and giving an affectionate head butt! i've had the joy of being a recipient of such as well. one day i was bent down to her level when she saw me, came over and stopped. as she came closer to the glass, i met her with the same. she tilted her head down and rubbed the glass against where i had met hers with a head tilt as well. i got a head butt from padang! make that a head butt from a tiger! incredible! she then continued on her perimeter rounds, checking the window for her boyfriend, but the next two times she rounded and stopped. my head butt talley for the visit was three! ... photo of padang celebrating her birthday last november.