Big cats

I'm a big cat fan and a fan of big cats. I'm very fortunate to have seen lions, cheetahs and leopards in the wild in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Botswana. I have tried to see tigers in India on two visits but without luck. I have always felt very sad for big cats in zoos and wildlife parks and have been strongly of the opinion that breeding big cats for captivity is wrong. But recently I have changed my views 180º. I now realise that without captive breeding programs there is a real danger that we will lose some of the big cats for ever. Hunting for body parts and pelts for Asian markets and the loss of habitat is rapidly reducing tiger numbers. White lions are extinct in the wild.
My final change of heart came last week when I visited Mogo Wildlife Park-formerly Mogo Zoo- in Mogo in NSW. The Wildlife Park had a very near miss in the summer's bushfires which ravaged the south coast region. A massive fire came right upto the park. An incredible effort by the staff saved the animals and although buildings and fences were damaged the park was able to reopen after a few weeks. Now a good number of visitors, including me, are coming to the park to support it and help it make up for its lost summer visitors. Sadly Covid-19 is about to prove another challenge for the park.
The park has excellent facilities and quite a few big cats, including white lions, which all have big grassy enclosures. There's none of the sad concrete floored cages which so distressed me in the past.
The highlights of the visit for me were seeing the 12 week old white lion cub and its mother playing and having an up close and personal encounter with the absolutely beautiful Sumatran tiger seen in the photo above.
I took my Leica XV but as it only has a short zoom lens I had little expectation of getting good photos and in any case the wire mesh on the enclosures is always a problem. One day a camera manufacturer will introduce a shooting through wire mesh mode for wildlife park and motor racing photographers although probably a smartphone manufacturer will get there first.
I could have taken my Fuji with its long lens as shooting with a long lens through wire mesh does reduce but not eliminate the mesh interference. I decided that one camera was enough for the trip and I am very happy with the tiger photo. It's not anywhere as good as a photo taken in the wild but for me it's a passable substitute. I was really tempted to stroke his nose after I took the photo as he was so close and that's not something I could experience in the wild.