Virus Outbreak That Killed 7 North Texas Big Cats Appears Over

December 9, 2013

Lucca, 13, was a female tiger who died from canine distemper at In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue and Education Center. (credit: In-Sync Exotics)

WYLIE (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — A spokeswoman for a North Texas animal sanctuary where seven big cats have died of a virus says the worst of the outbreak appears to be over even though some cats still show symptoms.

Lisa Williams said Monday that 22 animals — lions, tigers and leopards — tested positive for canine distemper at the height of the outbreak over the summer at In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue and Education Center. Besides the seven cats killed by the virus, other animals either no longer show any signs or exhibit minor symptoms such as loss of appetite.

Experts believe raccoons transferred the virus into the large outdoor cages that house the cats.

A female cougar named Crimson was the last to pass away in August. Crimson was the seventh big cat to die at the wildlife sanctuary this year, but unlike the six tigers before her, she didn’t die from canine distemper — the cougar succumbed after having battled kidney issues.

Williams says a lion named Sabu died Sunday but at 23 years old his death was attributed to old age and infirmity.

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‘Big Cat Show’ purr-fect event

By Kayla Galloway

Asst. News Editor

Published: Tuesday, December 10, 2013

STAR // Paige Transue

The wild Geoffroy’s cat shows its gentle side in a sweet moment between human and animal.

STAR // Paige Transue

A cat handler shows the audience the ocelot’s beautiful coat.

• This week in photos...Big Cat Show

“Be big and be loud,” was the advice given by Barbara Dicely at the Big Cat Show held in the Student Center’s Ballroom on Dec. 3 when asked what to do if approached by a wild cat.

 “As the planet keeps growing, there’s less room for the animals. They are an endangered species on the verge of extinction. These cats are amazing and we make them our school mascots because we respect their beauty,” said Dicely.
Dicely is the founder of the Wild Cat Education and Conservation Fund, created in 2001. The Big Cat Show has recently become a tradition at Sonoma State and is often a popular event among students. This year marked the first time that small wild cats were featured in the show.

Dicely has worked with wild cats for nearly 35 years. Holding roughly 75 to 100 programs per year, Dicely is committed to educating adults and children about the endangerment of these wild cats that coexist on earth.

This year’s Big Cat Show featured four wild cats, three of which weighed less than 35 pounds.

Introduced first was the fishing cat found primarily in Southern and Southeast Asia. This wild cat weighs 20 pounds on average and lives on a diet that consists of only fish. The many unique features of the fishing cat are found within its name.

“They live near water. They (fishing cats) actually swim underwater and his paws are webbed. He can swim really fast but he is not a fast runner,” said Dicely.

The next cat shown was the ocelot, found in every South American country except Chile. This wild cat was one of the most hunted and threatened cats in the Americas because of the beauty of its fur.  The ocelot is now protected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife services and is no longer hunted in America.

The mountain lion, or cougar, was the third wild cat featured in the Big Cat Show. This big cat weighs nearly four times the size of the fishing cat and lives in both South and North America. The habitat of a mountain lion includes many places in California, including the Bay Area. Despite being a protected species in California, the mountain lion population is decreasing.

“We have two choices: we learn how to coexist or we kill all of them, and someday the only one left will be man,” said Dicely.

The final and smallest cat presented in the show was the Geoffroy’s cat, found in the central and southern areas of South America. Weighing only 6.5 pounds, this wild cat is the second most hunted cat compared to the ocelot. Nowadays, the Geoffroy’s cat is no longer hunted for their fur because of the wildlife laws protecting them.

As this year’s Big Cat Show came to a close, founder Dicely answered many questions from the audience ranging from how people can help preserve the wild cats and to how cats are different from dogs.


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Hyderabad zoo gets African lion, cheetah pairs

TNN  

Dec 10, 2013

 

HYDERABAD: The much-awaited pairs of African lion and cheetah, gifted by the Saudi Arabian government, reached the city on Monday. The big cats are young, aged about a year-and-a-half, and would be put on display at the Nehru Zoological Park after a month of quarantine, basically to let them get used to the conditions and climate, officials said.

The African lions, officials said are valuable addition to the zoo's exhaustive collection as not many zoos in India have African lions, and it is after several years the Nehru zoo park will be exhibiting them. The zoo park currently has only Asiatic breed with a stock of about 18 lions.

Zoo officials said all precautions would be taken to acclimatize the big cats to local weather conditions. Each animal would be provided with a heater and a maximum temperature of 28 degrees to 30 degrees would be maintained. These animals were also kept in controlled conditions in Saudi Arabia due to hot weather conditions there with temperatures crossing 50 degrees Celsius.

"These are all tropical animals. The weather is very pleasant in Hyderabad right now. Nights are little colder but we would install heaters to keep them comfortable," said A Shankaran, curator, Zoo Park. "It's a gift from Saudi government. Transportation costs were also borne by the Saudi government," he added. The cats were transported in a cargo flight of Saudi Airlines to the city.

Prince Bandar Bin Saud Bin Mohammed Al Saud, president, Saudi Commission for Wildlife, had come to attend CoP-11 summit, held in Hyderabad during October 2012, and had visited the zoo park. Impressed with the zoo's upkeep and thousands of visitors thronging the zoo, he had promised the gift to zoo authorities that finally reached the zoo park on Monday.

With the addition of a pair of cheetah, zoo now has six cheetahs including two females. The four cheetahs, including three males and one female, which the Nehru zoo park got from the Czech Republic in an exchange programme earlier. "All cats are valuable. These are exotic animals not found here naturally. Most important role of our zoo is to show people the different wildlife that exists around the world," said Rajeev Mathew, a wildlife expert.

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Meet Shere Khan & China Doll

Image of the Day

Leopard in the grass again, a photo by Tambako the Jaguar on Flickr.

Parrots Annoying Cats Compilation (Video)

Image of the Day

Arisha walking II, a photo by Tambako the Jaguar on Flickr.

The Smithsonian Zoo has 6 new Cheetah cubs!

Photo Credit: Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

Dec. 4. 2013

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo is celebrating International Cheetah Day with 10 genetically valuable cheetah cubs, which were born at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute last month. First-time mother Miti birthed a litter of seven cubs Nov. 12. Six of her cubs survived—five female and one male. Experienced mother Ally gave birth to a litter of four cubs Nov. 26. Animal care staff have not fully examined Ally’s cubs yet but both litters are doing well. For now, staff are watching the cheetah mothers bond with their cubs via closed-circuit webcams in their enclosures.

Images source

Photo recall: Little cubs never got to become big cats

By Edward Rooney

Sunday Dec 8, 2013

Photo / Richard Robinson, photo research / Emma Land.

 

The future looked good for the highly photogenic lion cubs Zak and Zalika as they rolled in the grass with park attendant Sarah Price.

The pair were looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed 12 years ago as their Rotorua owners put them out for public encounters. The 2-month-olds had just one more month before they would be too old to be handled. Cubs can be patted on the back - not the head - so as not to stress them.

Zak and Zalika had a difficult start to life after their mother's milk dried up unexpectedly and they lost weight rapidly. At the time of the photo, the cubs were exuberant and coping well with teething.

Paradise Valley Springs co-owner Stuart Hamlett said the cubs did not fare well for long. "Zak had a brain tumour and sadly we also lost Zalika."

Zalika had a problem with her bowel and survived two operations before she failed to make it through a third. "We knew it was going to be tough and we'd hoped she wouldn't need the third operation," Hamlett said.

Attendant Sarah Price now has a family and lives in the South Island.

The Springs has two young male cubs, currently known as Brownie and Ginger, who have spent a couple of days on view and the public will have some very closely managed access over the next few weeks. "They won't be Brownie and Ginger for much longer, that's just their nicknames at this stage. We'll probably go with African names as we have done in the past. "After Zalika, who was so adorable and much loved, we named the next girl Alika."

Hamlett said the park had enjoyed major successes with cubs since Zak and Zalika. "We recently had three go over to a zoo in Bali. Initially, we weren't sure but the zoo is being run by a New Zealander - Tim Husband - who was brought in to look after Zion Park after they struck problems there with the trainer Dalu [Mncube] getting killed. "We knew they would be in good hands with Tim."

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Handler's bravery highlighted in fatal attack by big cat

By Kathryn Powley

Sunday Dec 8, 2013

Dalu Mncube with colleague Napoleon 'Martin' Ferreira.

 

A clear and grisly account has emerged of the death of Dalu Mncube under the giant claws and teeth of a white tiger.

Brave big-cat handler Martin Ferreira punched and whacked the attacking tiger, Abu. He also sprayed Abu's face with a fire extinguisher and another staff member zapped the cat with a cattle prodder, but nothing quelled the lethal onslaught.

Ferreira's bravery at Zion Wildlife Park is a bright spot in a sad and gruesome coroner's decision on Mncube's death on May 27, 2009.

Coroner Brandt Shortland described Ferreira as selfless. Another tiger, Rewa, was in the enclosure and could have joined the attack.

Ferreira, 41, told the Herald on Sunday that the day had started like any other. He'd opened his Bible at Psalm 23. "It was about how you will go though the valley of the shadow of death but God will keep his hand over you." He had wondered to his wife, Liana: "Why this particular passage?" That night he knew.

"The Lord gave me a warning, that he was going to help me at a difficult time."

He had five years' experience with lions in his native South Africa before going to work at Zion, on the northern outskirts of Whangarei, in 2008.

Shortland's report outlines how Mncube and Ferreira had gone into the enclosure to clean. It was accepted practice for keepers to enter enclosures with cats, and was permitted by law. Shortland said it was also controversial because big cats were isolated during cleaning at other parks.

The attack had begun as Abu bit on Mncube's leg. "Martin, help me please," Mncube, 30, had calmly said. Abu had begun growling and, despite Ferreira's blows, dragged Mncube by the shoulder towards his den. Then he had bitten Mncube's head. Armed only with a cattle prod, Ferreira had approached Mncube when Abu had moved away. Another worker had shot Abu, and Mncube was taken out by ute, but it was too late to save him.

Ferreira, who shot and killed Abu, said his actions had been automatic. "I didn't really think about my own safety. I was trying to help Dalu."

He said he felt for Mncube's partner Sharon Arnott and their child, Starskea. "In the beginning it was really difficult. For the first few months going to sleep, it played over and over. It slowly got better and these days I don't think about it much." The experience had taught him life was short and to make the most of it.

Now dairy farming in Southland, the father of two said he still missed working with big cats.

Tidy up zoo laws, coroner urges

Zion Wildlife Park was a mess before Dalu Mncube died.

That's the view of Zion's government-appointed operator Glen Holland - a former Auckland Zoo keeper brought in when a rift between Zion founder Craig Busch and his mother, Patricia Busch, forced Craig out.
Holland told Coroner Brandt Shortland that he was staggered by the culture of Zion, but said Mncube was possibly the best big-cat handler he'd ever met.

After his November 2008 appointment, Holland introduced safety protocols aimed at keeping cats and people separate.

Shortland's report blamed no one for Mncube's death but recommended that zoo laws be tidied.

Zoos were currently subject to three acts, making it complex and unworkable at times, he said.

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Image of the Day

Noah having a bath, a photo by Tambako the Jaguar on Flickr.

Image of the Day

Leopard and grass, a photo by Tambako the Jaguar on Flickr.

Image of the Day

Cougar in the vegetation, looking at me..., a photo by Tambako the Jaguar on Flickr.

There is always more than one cat

Wayne Linklater  

Dec 07

Cats might be a “beneficial urban predator” according to Dr. John Flux and his conclusion featured prominently in the media to have a major influence on the public debate about cats and native wildlife. But Dr. Flux’s conclusion has relied heavily for evidence from just one cat [1].

Dr. John Flux, and the 17-year record of what his cat dragged in, featured prominently in the media during the debate about cats and native wildlife. But the evidence from one cat is not good enough to conclude that cats are “a beneficial urban predator” (Source: www.3news.co.nz)

There are five reasons why what John’s cat dragged in is not reliable evidence for cats being good for urban wildlife. I addressed the first three in my previous posts: cats bring only a small and biased sample of what they actually kill, and the persistence of native species in John’s backyard might be because killed wildlife are replaced by animals recolonizing from elsewhere.

One cat

John’s conclusion also depended on his observation of one cat, where he thought there were no others – before his cat “only a few stray cats were seen” [1]. Actually, John doesn’t know the density of feral, stray and other domestic cats in his neighbourhood and their kill-rate – he didn’t measure it.
This leads to the fourth reason why John’s logic and conclusion is flawed:

4. There is never only one cat …  In an urban or suburban landscape cats share habitat. Free-ranging domestic cats are our most common companion animal [2]. They live in our towns and cities in extraordinary numbers.

New Zealanders own 1.4 million cats – the highest ownershp rate in the world. Almost half our households have at least one cat. Our 25 largest cities have about 1.6 cats per hectare (photo source: www.unitec.ac.nz)

New Zealand is home to about 1.4 million domestic cats. Almost half (48%) of our households own an average of almost 2 cats each (1.8 per household with cats). One in every five households own two or more cats – the highest rate of cat ownership in the world. Only 23% of Australian, 19% of UK, and 33% of USA households own a cat [2].

1.6 domestic cats per hectare

In New Zealand’s 25 main cities there are from 36 to 829 households per square kilometre or 188 households per km² overall. With our high levels of cat ownership, that translates into up to 7 cats per hectare (a hectare is about one rugby football field or soccer pitch) and at least 1 cat per 3 hectares.
Overall, New Zealand’s cities average 1.6 domestic cats per hectare – an extraordinary density for an urban predator that typically ranges over about 1 to 10 hectares or up to 1.2 km from their home [3].

… and they each kill differently – Importantly, cats have idiosyncratic hunting preferences – some favour birds, others mice [4]. Some cats are lethal, others less so.  Animals, like cats, are adaptable, learning creatures whose hunting preferences develop and change with experience and circumstances.  Lethal cats can become harmless, and harmless cats lethal, during their lifetimes. Some will target native animals more than others.

Stray cat colonies, variously cared for and neglected, occur in their hundreds in NZ cities in addtion to the extrordinary densities of domestic cats (Source: www.stuff.co.nz).

Cats are super-dense in New Zealand’s cities. And that is without also considering the hundreds – yes hundreds – of stray cat colonies [5]  in our cities, or feral cats in and around the city that are continually replenished with neglected domestic cats. The enormous scale of the cat population and variation in their killing is missed by John in reaching his conclusion.

Science measures variation in cat populations, not one cat

John recorded just one cat that he reports was the only hunter in the vicinity of his home. In the wider world, however, the landscape of our cities, towns, farms and wild places are filled with more than one cat and they are each killing differently. Given the extraordinary density of cats in NZ cities, it is possible that many neighbourhoods will have at least one catastrophic killer of native wildlife.

John was careful to write that his cat’s killing was “not necessarily representative of cats in general”  but he would have more accurately said that the information from his one cat cannot possibly represent the killing by all the cats in our towns and cities. The record from one cat is not population or ecological science.

Bibliography
1. Flux JEC. 2007. Seventeen years of predation by one suburban cat in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 34:289-296.
2. MacKay J. 2011. Companion Animals in New Zealand. pp. 62: New Zealand Companion Animal Council Inc.
3. Metsers EM, Seddon PJ, van Heezik YM. 2010. Cat-exclusion zones in rural and urban-fringe landscapes: how large would they have to be? Wildlife Research, 37:47-56.
4. van Heezik Y, Smyth A, Adams A, Gordon J. 2010. Do domestic cats impose an unsustainable harvest on urban bird populations? Biological Conservation 2010, 143:121-130.
5. Aguilar GD, Farnworth MJ: Distribution characteristics of unmanaged cat colonies over a 20 year period in Auckland, New Zealand. Applied Geography 2013, 37:160-167.

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Image of the Day

Arisha among the grasses, a photo by Tambako the Jaguar on Flickr.

Winter Care for Feral Cats

The Neighborhood Cats Winter Shelter

For detailed instructions on how to build, click here
To view photos of how to assemble, click here. Picture trail courtesy of Arjun Ray.

Originally designed by Karin Hancock of Port Washington, NY, our favorite feral cat winter shelter has many advantages. The two-inch thick hard Styrofoam is excellent insulation and traps the cat's body heat, effectively turning the feline into a radiator.  Air space is purposely limited, so there is less volume to be heated. Typically, 3 to 4 cats can fit comfortably inside, although more might curl up on a severely cold night. 

The shelter is lightweight and should be weighed down.  Best is to place two shelters about a foot apart with the doors facing each other.  Bridge the gap by laying a piece of plywood across both roofs.  Now the shelters are fully protected against the elements.

After the cats have begun using the shelters, you might try adding a flap door which the cats can easily pull back.  A piece of a vinyl mat will do, attached by drilling (or poking) two holes above the door opening and using plastic nuts and bolts (like those used to attach toilet seats).  Never place water inside because it could spill and get the cats wet, threatening their health. 

Materials include an 8-foot sheet of hard Styrofoam (usually pink),  a few linoleum floor tiles, a tube of silicone sealant and deck paint.  Average cost will likely be in the range of $50 to $60 each.  Ideally the Styrofoam will be cut with a table saw in order to keep the edges of the pieces straight.

The CSM Stray Foundation Winter Shelter

Here's another idea inspired by the CSM Stray Foundation in Kew Gardens, Queens:

Materials needed are: a large Rubbermaid storage bin, an eight foot by two foot sheet of one-inch thick hard Styrofoam, a yardstick, a box cutter or utility knife, and straw, shredded newspaper or other insulating material. Then assemble as follows:

1. Cut a doorway six inches by six inches in one of the long sides of the storage bin towards the corner. To prevent flooding, cut the opening so that the bottom of the doorway is several inches above the ground.
2. Line the floor of the bin with a piece of Styrofoam, using the yardstick and box cutter to cut out the piece.
3. In similar fashion, line each of the four interior walls of the bin with a piece of the Styrofoam.  Perfect cuts are not necessary. Don't make the Styrofoam go all the way up to the top of the bin, but leave a uniform gap of at least three inches between the top of these Styrofoam "wall pieces" and the upper lip of the bin. There needs to be room for an interior Styrofoam "roof" to fit.
4. Cut out a doorway in the Styrofoam where it is lined up with the doorway that has been cut out already in the storage bin. Trace the outline of the doorway on the Styrofoam first before cutting.
5. Stuff the bottom of the bin with straw or other insulating material to hold the Styrofoam interior wall pieces in place.
6. Cut out a Styrofoam "roof" to rest on top of the Styrofoam interior wall pieces
7. Cover the bin with its lid.

This shelter can be cleaned by taking off the lid and the Styrofoam roof. It's also lightweight and may need to be weighed down. A flap over the doorway is optional. Catnip can be sprinkled inside at first to attract the cats.

FeralVilla

For $64.95 plus shipping & handling, the manufacturer FeralVilla will send you a pre-fabricated wooden insulated shelter that you can assemble with a screwdriver.  According to the website:

"The unique design has 2 levels -- a ‘labyrinth’-type lower level to keep out wind and water, and an insulated, upper level that allows the cat’s own body heat to be retained during cold weather.

"The overall size of The FeralVilla is 22" x 22" and about 21" high at the peak of the roof. The roof overhangs the main body by a couple inches to provide additional weather resistance.

"The basic construction materials are like those used in homes. All wood is painted to resist weathering and rot. The lower legs (that rest on the ground) are made from pressure treated lumber that is particularly resistant to rot and insect damage. Under normal outside conditions, the shelter is expected to last a minimum of 7 years."

Emergency Feral Cat Shelter!!

In an emergency, such as the aftermath of a bad storm or a sudden cold snap, you can quickly make an adequate temporary shelter out of a cardboard box, plastic sheeting (or trash bags), duct tape and shredded newspaper.  The cardboard provides some insulation, the plastic will keep the shelter dry and the newspaper will let the cats burrow in.

Take a cardboard box and tape all the seams shut with the duct tape.  Wrap plastic sheeting (a drop cloth 3 mm thick is best) or a heavy duty trash bag (3 mm thick contractor bags are best) around the box, securing it by liberally and tightly wrapping duct tape around the sides of the box.  Make as few seams as possible with the plastic and duct tape over any that are there.  In one of the shorter sides and a few inches above the ground, cut open a doorway about 6 inches by 6 inches.  It's important to leave a lip at the bottom of the doorway and not have the opening right on the ground.  Use duct tape to hold the loose plastic around the doorway in place.  Fill the interior up to the bottom of the doorway (and a little higher towards the back of the box) loosely with shredded newspaper.

Special tip!  Put a smaller cardboard box inside a slightly larger one for added insulation.

If possible, place the box shelter underneath something to protect it, like a tree or a porch, and on top of something to raise it off the ground, like a pallet.  Weigh it down with a couple of bricks or rocks, heavy enough to keep it in place but not to crush the top.  For permanent winter shelter, consider one of the alternatives below.

Other Alternatives

Spay and Stay of Lake County, Illinois, offers detailed plans and photos on its website for making inexpensive winter shelters from two Rubbermaid storage boxes: http://www.spayandstay.org/winter-shelter/

Another shelter created from Rubbermaid storage bins was designed by John V.; this version features an interior panel that serves as a windbreak. For complete DIY instructions click here.

Animalkind of Hudson County, NY, provides photos and instructions on its website for converting Styrofoam packing containers into cold weather shelter: http://www.all-creatures.org/ak/feral-shelter.html

An adequate shelter for one cat can be made from a simple Styrofoam cooler available at any hardware store. Glue the lid onto the cooler, turn it upside down and cut a hole in one side (anywhere but in the middle of one of the long sides).  The Styrofoam containers used to ship meat can be turned into shelters in the same way and can, depending on their size, house 3 to 4 cats. If you want to get fancy, get a large Igloo cooler and, with a jigsaw, cut a five to six inch round hole towards the left or right of one of the long sides. The attached lid will allow for easy cleaning.

Insulation

The cats' shelter will be warmer and cozier if you put loose insulating material inside. The material must be dry and loose, so that the cats can burrow into and underneath it.  Straw is best, while shredded newspaper will also work. The worst are blankets, towels or folded newspaper.  Because the cats can only lie on top of these materials, they actually draw out body heat and defeat the purpose.  Hay, because it's moist, can become moldy and some cats are reportedly allergic to hay and can develop nasal sores.  But do keep in mind, if you use insulating materials, you must be able to change them regularly in order to ensure they stay dry.

Here's two other ideas for insulation:

Take a cotton pillow case and loosely fill it with styrofoam peanuts, the kind used to pack fragile items during shipping. Tie the pillow case closed and put it inside the shelter. The pillow case will conform to the cat's body and wrap her in warmth-capturing peanuts. (Note: as packing peanuts are now often made from starch, which dissolves in water, it's helpful to place the peanuts in a plastic bag before putting them in the pillow case). (This idea originally comes from the book Maverick Cats: Encounters with Feral Cats by Ellen Perry Berkeley.)

One exception to the rule that insulating material must allow cats to burrow in, rather than sit on top is the Fleximat Mysterious Purr Pad.  The pads can be placed on the floor of the shelter and will help to conserve body heat.  Sold in packs of two pads.

Extreme Cold

Claudia Allen of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, lines the interior walls of her styrofoam shelters with a Mylar reflective blanket, which can be bought at survival stores as thermal safety blankets for people (in case your car gets stuck in the cold.) The Mylar reflects the cat's body heat back onto him and can make the difference in extreme temperatures, particularly in the more northern states and Canada. For a detailed explanation of how to build Claudia's Mylar-lined winter shelter, complete with photos, click here (pdf file).

Claudia also uses an outdoor heating pad in the shelter and an electric dish that she reports keeps water from freezing as low as minus 38 degrees F. These items can be found at http://cozywinters.com:  heating pad and electric bowl.

Caretakers have reported the Mylar blankets are also effective when laid on the floor of the shelter or attached to the walls.  They don't absorb and take away body heat like ordinary blankets when a cat lies on top, but instead reflect heat back.  That's why they're sold as emergency blankets for car travel in wintertime.  Mylar blankets are very inexpensive, usually costing no more than a dollar or two each.  Go to Amazon.com for a list of retailers and prices.  If attaching to the interior walls, you can use freezer tape or, for a more permanent fix, carpenter glue.  Be sure to tuck in any loose material at the seams so the cats aren't tempted to pull at or chew the loose material.

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Houston Zoo lets cheetahs run free at Dynamo practice field

By Craig Hlavaty | December 4, 2013

Bet you didn't know today was International Cheetah Day, did you?

In honor of this day -- meant to raise awareness of the care of the big cats -- two male cheetahs from the Houston Zoo visited the Houston Sports Park off Kirby where the Houston Dynamo practice to show off their running skills.

The cheetah boys, Kito and Kiburi, made three runs for cameras, chasing a lure. Of course they were of course off the leash, which meant that media types were separated from the cats, lest there be a painful mishap.
Sarah Riger, the carnivore supervisor at the Houston Zoo, says that the pair turned 6 in September.  The zoo clocked the speed of the cheetahs this morning with a radar gun.

"We clocked Kiburi at 42 miles per hour," says Riger. In the wild, cheetahs can run as fast as 70 miles per hour, though they have no need or room to run that fast in a zoo setting.
Houston Texans owner Bob McNair and his wife Janice were on hand for the cheetah run. Maybe he's looking to sign the pair to help out the Texans on special teams.

The Cheetah Conservation Fund reports that there only 10,000 cheetahs left in the wild, noting in a press release that the cheetah is not only the fastest, but the oldest of all the cats in the big cat family, surviving 3 million years, even through the last Ice Age.

 

Photo By James Nielsen/Houston Chronicle

Houston Zoo Carnivore Supervisor Sara Riger touches one of the zoo's two male cheetahs, Kito and Kiburi later ran off leash at the Houston Dynamo's practice field located at Houston Sports Park Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2013, in Houston. Today is International Cheetah Day.

 

Photos By James Nielsen/Houston Chronicle

The Houston Zoo's two male cheetahs Kito and Kiburi running off leash at the Houston Dynamo's practice field located at Houston Sports Park Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2013, in Houston. Today is International Cheetah Day.

 

 

 

  

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Images of the Day

Really cool leopards by Tambako the Jaguar

The Rescue of Fencer the Bobcat (VIDEO)

Brian Dooling
December 3, 2013

Abandoned cats and dogs are rescued all the time, but what happens when a big endangered wild cat needs rescuing? Big Cat Rescue Sanctuary of Tampa, Fla.,  specializes in helping large cat breeds in the wild and captivity when they’re in trouble. The rescue is the largest accredited sanctuary in the world for big cats and serves as a home to over 100 of them from bobcats and lions to tigers and cougars.

Recently, Big Cat Rescue released a video of their rescue of a bobcat they named Fencer. This wild bobcat was caught in fence and discovered by a man in his backyard. The owner did the correct thing by not approaching the animal but calling authorities, first animal control and then Big Cat Rescue. The video clearly illustrates the delicate and extensive measures Big Cat Rescue takes in approaching wild cats like Fencer.

After tranquilizing and freeing Fencer, Big Cat Rescue provided additional care to him by completing a full health inspection. Fortunately, Fencer only broke one bone in his paw and spent a total of six weeks at the Big Cat Rescue sanctuary. Every step of the way, from Fencer’s rescue to treatment and finally release back into his habitat, Big Cat Rescue focused on keeping his stress levels down as well as healing him.


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Emptying the Desert

Posted by Stuart Pimm on December 3, 2013

By Dr. Sarah Durant, Zoological Society of London, Wildlife Conservation Society, and National Geographic’s Big Cats Initiative

There are few landscapes more evocative and beautiful than the sweeping sands and majestic mountains of the Sahara desert. This land used to be widely populated by large animals uniquely adapted to the harsh and unpredictable desert environment. Their ability to roam freely across a vast landscape following sparse rainfall and forage is key to their survival in an unforgiving habitat.

However, over recent times, there has been a catastrophic decline in wildlife in the Sahara. In a new article  that documents the status of large animal species in the region, we show that, out of 14 species historically found in the Sahara, most have been eradicated from 90% or more of their historical range.

Species such as the Addax used to roam widely across the Sahara, but now number only a couple of hundred individuals – the recently established Termit and Tin-Toumma National Nature Reserve in Niger is one of their last strongholds. Photograph by Thomas Rabeil/Sahara Conservation Fund.

Dr. Sarah Durant brewing a lovely cup of tea. Photograph by Sarah Durant.

Several species have disappeared entirely. The last known photograph of the iconic Scimitar horned oryx was taken in 1982 by John Newby (photo below), and the species was declared extinct in the wild in 1999 (it only survives now in captivity).

 Less information survives on the precise time of disappearance of another three species that have been eradicated from the region: the lion; bubal hartebeest;  and the African wild dog. Critically endangered addax, dama gazelle and Saharan cheetah cling on in tiny fragmented populations, while endangered populations of slender-horned and Cuvier’s gazelles are not faring much better.

This photo, taken by John Newby from the Sahara Conservation Fund in 1982, is thought to be the last of scimitar-horned oryx in the wild. Photograph by John Newby/Sahara Conservation Fund.

You might think that such a catastrophic collapse of an entire megafauna would be making headlines, and that something would be done to stop it, but it has gone ahead largely unnoticed and unreported.
Deserts have become almost invisible on the conservation agenda. World attention has, understandably, focused on the rich biodiversity found in hotspots, which are often in tropical forests. However, deserts actually harbour surprisingly high levels of biodiversity, able to thrive in a harsh and highly variable environment.  This biodiversity hides a wealth of adaptations that enable species to tolerate water stress and extreme temperatures; information that may prove critical as we are forced to adapt to a changing climate.

Unsustainable hunting and past and ongoing insecurity have undoubtedly played a key role in the loss of Saharan wildlife, but it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that more attention might have helped prevent some of the declines. Rare antelope and Saharan cheetah can still be found in remote and inaccessible corners of the Sahara, in vast landscapes possessing a silent peace and unforgettable beauty.


There are also some good news stories—Niger has just established a massive 97,000km² reserve—Termit and Tin Toumma National Nature Reserve, which harbours most of the world’s 200 or so remaining wild addax and one of a handful of surviving populations of dama gazelle and Saharan cheetah. While there is hope that we may yet see scimitar horned oryx back in the wild in the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Game Reserve, with the support of the Chadian government.

2014 is the halfway point in the United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight against Desertification and the fourth year of the United Nations Decade for Biodiversity. It is an opportune time for the world to focus on securing the sustainable management of desert ecosystems, to the benefit of people and wildlife. The world will be a poorer place if the unique biodiversity of the Sahara and other deserts is allowed to disappear.

Saharan landscapes, such as found in the Ahaggar Cultural Park photographed here, are stunningly beautiful. Photograph by Sarah Durant/Zoological Society of London.

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Hunters or Hunted? Wolves vs. Mountain Lions

Posted by Mark Elbroch of Panthera in Cat Watch on December 4, 2013

F109, a six-year-old cougar, nursing three three-week-old kittens. She wears a Vectronics satellite collar which allows researchers to follow her movements in near real time and study the secret lives of mountain lions. Photograph by Mark Elbroch/Panthera

Wolves are coursing, social predators that operate in packs to select disadvantaged prey in open areas where they can test their prey’s condition. Mountain lions are solitary, ambush predators that select prey opportunistically (i.e., of any health) in areas where slopes, trees, boulders, or other cover gives them an advantage. Thus, wolves and cougars inhabit and utilize different ecological niches, allowing them to spatially and temporally coexist; nevertheless, in the absence of wolves, cougars utilize areas traditionally assumed to be the sole dominion of coursing wolves. This suggests that where wolves are sympatric with cougars, wolves limit mountain lions.

In fact, wolves kill mountain lions. This has never been disputed. Wolves are considered the dominant competitors in most interactions between the species. Take for instance, the Hornocker Institute study of mountain lions in Northern Yellowstone led by Dr. Toni Ruth, in which researchers discovered the remains of three mountain lions killed by wolves. What is contentious is the idea that mountain lions might kill wolves.

Look carefully for the mountain lion in the background, pushed off its kill by a large wolf caught on remote camera. Photograph courtesy Teton Cougar Project/Panthera

Liz Bradley, a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wolf biologist, reports that she has discovered five wolves killed by mountain lions in three years—all bearing the characteristic canine punctures in their skulls betraying the identity of the perpetrator. Some dispute her claims and point out that wolves fight each other too, especially adjacent packs, and that they also attack the head; skeptics believe a canine puncture in a wolf skull could be made by another wolf just as easily as a mountain lion.

The Teton Cougar Project operates in the Southern Yellowstone Ecosystem, and is one of very few long-term studies of mountain lions. Since the start of the project, wolves have trickled into the area, established territories and reproduced. In 2001, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service surveys estimated that there were about 10 wolves in our study area, and that number steadily increased to as high as 91 in 2010. To date, we’ve documented five lions killed by wolves, all kittens, and all less than six months old while they were still relatively slow to climb and less than fully coordinated. But it was just last October that we finally documented the contrary. For the first time, a mountain lion we were tracking killed a wolf.

She’s a particularly feral mountain lion, F109, an adult female with three three-month-old kittens. All cougars are feral, of course, but there’s something unique about F109. She has “crazy” eyes, and always wanders the most rugged, inhospitable terrain. She was near impossible to catch in the first place. She’s a survivor.

We can’t tell you exactly what happened, but we can describe what we deciphered from the clues left behind in the snow. F109 was up high traversing steep, barren slopes, where we expected there was little game.

Nevertheless, her location data indicated that she’d stopped and we suspected she’d made a kill. We slogged up the mountain to investigate, the ground bare of snow adjacent the road, but as deep as our thigh in the high bowl where she lingered. The entire area preceding her position was a mosaic of wolf tracks and trails. A wolf pack made up of adults, subadults and pups had criss-crossed the area, leaving barely a patch of snow without their sign.

Perhaps the wolves had challenged F109, or perhaps just one of them wandered too close to her kittens, or perhaps a pup felt like exploring on its own—trying to decipher the absolute pandemonium of tracks was beyond us. Whatever the circumstances, F109 captured and killed a pup born this year just above the chaos of wolf activity. By this time (November), wolf pups are sizable, their skulls larger than those of coyotes. We discovered the signs of struggle, the telltale blood in the snow, and the pup’s remains beneath a lonely subalpine fir: a pile of coal black fur, bone shards from the legs, and the skull, skinned but completely intact. F109 and her kittens had consumed the pup completely.

Thus far, our research has supported exactly what everyone  expected: Wolves dominate mountain lions in most encounters. But, this recent exchange is particularly exciting. No longer can we say that wolves dominate mountain lions in all encounters. What circumstances led to F109 turning the tables, we do not know. Perhaps F109’s predecessors served as naïve intermediaries relearning to coexist with a dominant competitor, a species absent since 1926, when the last wolf was killed in Yellowstone National Park.

Perhaps F109 is evidence that lions learn quickly and adapt, and that mountain lions will successfully coexist with wolves in the Yellowstone Ecosystem for generations to come.

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