Tiger Island Redevelopment - STAGE 1

[themagician]

48 minutes ago, ShakeShack said:

What's your source for this?

My eyes. So no, I don’t have any evidence, but from my experiences when visiting the park at times of the day the animal area can have just as many people if not more as in tiger island. And I’m not saying through shows, but tiger island isn’t a massive area compared to the wildlife area. 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

On 16/03/2024 at 6:13 PM, ShakeShack said:

Just as popular hey? What's your source for this?

Magician's thoughts kind of stick with mine. I can't support the argument for TI being quiet, but I can say the last 3-4 times i've been in park, we've visited the wildlife area, but not the tigers. Tiger Island is a dead end at present, and the changes to the tiger show\presentation mean there is less to see also, and while Wildlife is also a dead end, there were several reasons to visit wildlife - vintage cars (until christmas), Koala photos, train ride... I love to visit Goldie when i'm in the park and I also like to spend a few minutes at the TRRR memorial. 

Reasons to visit TI - 

1. Tigers.

[Ogre]

Saw staff measuring the fence by the entrance leading to Tiger Island. Something similar was done right before the Kung Fu Panda deconstruction began

[Tricoart]

The furthermost enclosure from the entrance (‘Day Yard’ in the plans) is unoccupied due to construction, meaning progress into this section of the redevelopment is viewable.

Edited June 24 by Tricoart

[Brad2912]

New/expanded section has opened on the left side of the island (currently no way through to Wildlife

 

makes for a much larger area for the one tiger housed in there, and the tiger feeds are run here through the glass 

[Brad2912]

Dreamworld to end human interaction with theme park tigers

Dreamworld has made a huge decision regarding their hugely popular Tiger Island, one which could leave the animals stressed and depressed.

Dreamworld has moved to end contact between humans and tigers for good at the Gold Coast theme park, after a handler was attacked by one of the venue’s resident big cats.

Dreamworld is installing a series of fences and gates which will allow the apex predators to move between the Tiger Island attraction and areas back-of-house without having to come into direct contact with humans.

Visitor encounters including photos and walks with members of the public were scrapped several years ago while the proposal to “phase out” tiger-handler interactions was first floated two years ago, but seems to now be close to becoming official.
 

The latest move comes after a handler was bitten by a tiger at the theme park in September and taken to hospital suffering “serious lacerations and puncture wounds” to her arm and shoulder.

Such incidents have been rare, with two handlers taken to hospital after being injured in 2011.
 

After the September incident, Dreamworld promised a full review, and management has since decided to phase out human interaction with the park’s tigers.

It follows similar moves away from animal encounters at other attractions, with Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary this year scrapping the iconic koala cuddle photo opp with visitors.

In a statement, a Dreamworld spokesperson said the park had been planning the transition for some time and had “invested significantly” in upgrading its tiger habitats and

facilities to enable this transition.
 

“The safety of team members, guests and animals are Dreamworld’s highest priority,” the spokesperson said.

“As a result, Dreamworld has now transitioned its tiger program to a non-handled operation.

“Tigers remain a critical part of the experience at Dreamworld and for Dreamworld Wildlife

Foundation, which has contributed over $2.2 million in funding for tiger conservation projects in the field via Wildcats Conservation Alliance since 2012.

“Guests will continue seeing tigers on exhibit, and in time, will receive a re-imagined educational presentation at Tiger Island about the importance of tiger conservation.”

However, some industry sources have expressed concerns over the move, saying hand-reared tigers who had known human contact for their entire lives may struggle with the changes.

“All they have ever known is to be around handlers and this sudden cessation could have an impact on their welfare,” an insider said.

During lockdowns at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, studies showed Dreamworld tigers exhibited signs of stress and depression due to the lack of human interaction.

It eventually saw staffers spend their breaks at the Tiger Island attraction to give the tigers a greater human presence.

 

Tiger Island has been one of the world’s most acclaimed tiger attractions since its opening almost 30 years ago, with the centre stimulating donations to wildlife projects and helping to diversify the gene pool for tigers in captivity through successful breeding programs.

However, in recent years several long-term staff members have moved on.

Another industry insider described the move as “the end of an era”.
 

https://www.couriermail.com.au/lifestyle/pets-and-wildlife/dreamworld-to-end-human-interaction-with-theme-park-tigers/news-story/36509f4d097e4415087ee3156959169e

 

[Michelangelo]

1 hour ago, Brad2912 said:

Dreamworld has moved to end contact between humans and tigers for good at the Gold Coast theme park, after a handler was attacked by one of the venue’s resident big cats.

Cmon courier mail… bullshit reporting again. spinning the narrative.

Greg announced they were putting an end to human and tiger contact back when he announced jungle rush in 2022. 
This wasn’t a move made after a handler was attacked.

 

[New display name]

Tiger Island looks depressing now.  Everytime I visited the Island now, there has been  one Tiger on the Island pacing back and fourth at the back door.  In the exhibit cages, the Tigers look relaxed and are laying down.

[Tricoart]

36 minutes ago, New display name said:

Tiger Island looks depressing now.  Everytime I visited the Island now, there has been  one Tiger on the Island pacing back and fourth at the back door.  In the exhibit cages, the Tigers look relaxed and are laying down.

I mean, yeah, but I’d hope that’s more a fault of the transitional period Tiger Island is in. It’s like going to a play to watch the dormant stage & a couple cleaning crew sweep the floors. The other enclosures are being sufficiently updated to the point that they're good standalone enclosures again, but the main moated viewing is still very clearly designed for the purpose it used to hold.

3 hours ago, Brad2912 said:

Dreamworld to end human interaction with theme park tigers

Dreamworld has made a huge decision regarding their hugely popular Tiger Island, one which could leave the animals stressed and depressed.

Dreamworld has moved to end contact between humans and tigers for good at the Gold Coast theme park, after a handler was attacked by one of the venue’s resident big cats.

Dreamworld is installing a series of fences and gates which will allow the apex predators to move between the Tiger Island attraction and areas back-of-house without having to come into direct contact with humans.

Visitor encounters including photos and walks with members of the public were scrapped several years ago while the proposal to “phase out” tiger-handler interactions was first floated two years ago, but seems to now be close to becoming official.
 

The latest move comes after a handler was bitten by a tiger at the theme park in September and taken to hospital suffering “serious lacerations and puncture wounds” to her arm and shoulder.

Such incidents have been rare, with two handlers taken to hospital after being injured in 2011.
 

After the September incident, Dreamworld promised a full review, and management has since decided to phase out human interaction with the park’s tigers.

It follows similar moves away from animal encounters at other attractions, with Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary this year scrapping the iconic koala cuddle photo opp with visitors.

In a statement, a Dreamworld spokesperson said the park had been planning the transition for some time and had “invested significantly” in upgrading its tiger habitats and

facilities to enable this transition.
 

“The safety of team members, guests and animals are Dreamworld’s highest priority,” the spokesperson said.

“As a result, Dreamworld has now transitioned its tiger program to a non-handled operation.

“Tigers remain a critical part of the experience at Dreamworld and for Dreamworld Wildlife

Foundation, which has contributed over $2.2 million in funding for tiger conservation projects in the field via Wildcats Conservation Alliance since 2012.

“Guests will continue seeing tigers on exhibit, and in time, will receive a re-imagined educational presentation at Tiger Island about the importance of tiger conservation.”

However, some industry sources have expressed concerns over the move, saying hand-reared tigers who had known human contact for their entire lives may struggle with the changes.

“All they have ever known is to be around handlers and this sudden cessation could have an impact on their welfare,” an insider said.

During lockdowns at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, studies showed Dreamworld tigers exhibited signs of stress and depression due to the lack of human interaction.

It eventually saw staffers spend their breaks at the Tiger Island attraction to give the tigers a greater human presence.

 

Tiger Island has been one of the world’s most acclaimed tiger attractions since its opening almost 30 years ago, with the centre stimulating donations to wildlife projects and helping to diversify the gene pool for tigers in captivity through successful breeding programs.

However, in recent years several long-term staff members have moved on.

Another industry insider described the move as “the end of an era”.
 

https://www.couriermail.com.au/lifestyle/pets-and-wildlife/dreamworld-to-end-human-interaction-with-theme-park-tigers/news-story/36509f4d097e4415087ee3156959169e

 

Disregarding the obviously misleading timeline that they're pushing here, I wonder which Parkz member from this thread they’ve chosen to be an ‘industry professional’.

[Michelangelo]

1 hour ago, Tricoart said:

Disregarding the obviously misleading timeline that they're pushing here, I wonder which Parkz member from this thread they’ve chosen to be an ‘industry professional’.

I have a gut feeling it might be a certain someone who used to run Tiger Island, or even Mr Mucci

[New display name]

On the radio today:

"DW's media release"

"After a review of the incident, we are stopping all tiger contact.

 

Could be the radio reading from the courier mail report or the radio reading directly from DW's media release.

Once upon a time, anybody could find a media release on DW's website, but now, I don't know where you can view DW's media releases, so it is a lot harder to find out who said what.

 

 

[Michelangelo]

9 hours ago, New display name said:

On the radio today:

"DW's media release"

"After a review of the incident, we are stopping all tiger contact.

 

Could be the radio reading from the courier mail report or the radio reading directly from DW's media release.

Once upon a time, anybody could find a media release on DW's website, but now, I don't know where you can view DW's media releases, so it is a lot harder to find out who said what.

 

 

From what I’ve read across multiple outlets there was no release. They instead provided a statement to media, assumedly in response to Courier Mail’s inquiries:

“In November 2022, Dreamworld shared its intention to transition Tiger Island to an environment in which tigers and handlers do not interact directly,” it said in a statement. 

“Since this time, Dreamworld has invested significantly in upgrading its tiger habitats and pfacilities to enable this transition. Construction of the alterations required is near complete.

“The safety of team members, guests and animals are Dreamworld’s highest priority.”

It continued: “As a result, Dreamworld has now transitioned its tiger program to a non-handled operation.

 

Heres my assumed timeline of events

They announce the transition in 2022

They get cracking on construction (behind the scenes they start transitioning)

There was the incident

They said after the incident they’d conduct a full review 

… **crickets**/courier mail’s clicks were dropping

Courier Mail start contacting the park saying, hey where’s the review? We haven’t shat on a Gold Coast theme park for a few months now…

So, DW release a statement saying they have transitioned to non-contact and their new Tiger island isn’t complete yet.

Courier Mail twist the statement to suit their click bait.