Bobcat M154 weighed about 24 pounds when Laurel Serieys and Seth
Riley encountered him in the wild. The pair had an hourlong window to
drug the animal and samplehisblood for its research on Los Angeles bobcats. They waited in the cold winter weather for the cat to regain consciousness.
“He was the biggest male we’d caught,” recalled Riley, a wildlife
ecologist with the National Park Service. “We put him inside our coats
to warm him up.”
Serieys would interact with many more bobcats for her research on the
effects of urbanization on local bobcat populations. Her lifelong
passion for researching wild felines drove her to pursue a doctoral
degree in UCLA’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and
publish papers in academic journals, the most recent of which was
published in February. Currently, she’s pursuing a graduate degree in
South Africa studying another breed of wild cat: the caracal.
“I (had) specifically been dreaming of how urbanization was
affecting wild cats,” she said, recalling her childhood. “I recognized
when I was in high school that it helps to find your own path that makes
you unique. You can have more of an individual impact.”
The National Park Service began studying bobcats in the Santa Monica
Mountains National Recreation Area in 1996. But in 2002, large numbers
of bobcats began succumbing to a disease called mange, a parasitic
ailment resulting in hair loss, bacterial infection and severe
emaciation. Serieys, who began working with the park service as an
intern in 2006, focused on mange for parts of a project for a doctoral
degree.
Serieys caught her first bobcat, B268, nine years ago. “I probably went crazy when I saw that cat,” she said. “I was super
excited, but nervous because I (had) to drug it and sample it.”
Riley said Serieys caught about 50 bobcats for her research by
herself from areas such as Santa Monica, Hollywood Hills and Griffith
Park. Her project focused on how freeways and pesticides induced genetic
change and disease susceptibility in bobcats to conditions such as
mange.
When she found traces of anticoagulant rat poison in the bloodstreams
of 39 percent of 195 sampled bobcats, Serieys researched the issue and
found the poison could cause immune system malfunction, making cats more
susceptible to mange.
She launched a website
called Urban Carnivores educating the public about her research and
publicizing research on rat poison – a chemical frequently used by
homeowners living on the edge of natural parkland.“It was a travesty to me that there was no platform to deliver
information to the public,” she said. “As a conservation biologist, that
is the endgame.”
Joel and Kian Schulman, local activists and founders of the nonprofit Poison Free Malibu,used
her research to advocate for the ban of rat poisons and bait boxes,
eventually getting eight cities to ban certain types of rat poison on
public property. “She gave a fantastic talk (at a city council meeting) and they
respected her,” Joel Schulman said. “She’s a powerful advocate for
this.”
Serieys recalled how the mange outbreak killed 90 percent of the bobcat population in Thousand Oaks. “I am in awe of the adaptability of these wild cats and their ability
to rebound from disease,” she said. “I’m confident in their resilience.
They’ll come back again.”
Although she ended her study with the National Park Service, Serieys
continues to assist UCLA graduate students, including Devaughn Fraser,
an ecology and evolutionary biology graduate studentresearching the connections between gene expression and immune function in bobcats. “Laurel continues to advise us on sample selection. She somehow
remembers every cat she captured and the events surrounding each one,”
Fraser said. “She’s a continual source of support.”
But Serieys is helping Fraser from a remote distance. In November,
she moved to South Africa to launch the Urban Caracal Project. The
location is an opportunity for her to study how geographic isolation
caused by the city of Cape Town can affect inbreeding and genetic health
within caracal populations.
The project hasn’t come without its difficulties. Serieys tracks the
elusive cats by GPS and visits their favorite spots after they leave,
trying to think like the animal. She said she has also faced car robberies, stolen equipment and a
fire that burned one-third of her study area. She said she found the
initial move stressful, not knowing the local culture or even if her
project would work. “I’m a bold person, but even that scared me,” she said.
Despite these setbacks, Serieys said the caracals still inspire her
by how they survive in an isolated, sometimes violent landscape. She
hopes her project will become a model for others and connect people to
their backyard biodiversity. “It’s about the choices you make. I’m living my life as I imagined it,” she said.
It's not enough to knit sweaters for our
children and grandchildren — no. Dexterous fingers need more. They need
to knit something smaller, faster: They need to knit hats for cats.
What started as a lark — and to honour the
grandmother who taught her to knit — has turned into steady work for
Sara Thomas, author of "Cats in Hats: 30 Knit and Crochet Patterns for
Your Kitty" (Running Press, March 2015).
Thomas hopes the book, with quick knitting
and crochet patterns for a dinosaur, chicken, bunny, turkey, cupcake,
extraterrestrial, banana, Santa, elf, lion, baby bear and more, will
free up time so she can knit and crochet something else. "As much as I love the cat hat. I do want to
do other things," admits Thomas, of Nashville, Tennessee.
In 2009, Thomas launched her Etsy shop,
Scooter Knits, with disparate handmade items, including one hand-knit
kitty hat, which quickly sold.
She's been crocheting tiny hats for feline
companions ever since. In 2012, her biggest hat-selling year, that was
300 kitty chapeaus (the holiday hats sell best). Thomas sometimes
crocheted until 4 a.m. to fill the orders.
Hannah Milman, editorial director of crafts
at Martha Stewart Living, isn't surprised. "People love their pets —
it's 'the new baby.' So it's no wonder people want to create
personalized, wearable gifts for their pets," Milman says. "A large part
of it is also social media ... Who doesn't love seeing cats or dogs on
Instagram in cute homemade outfits or accessories?"
At least one of the patterns in the book —
the Happy Birthday Cat Hat pattern — is free at Thomas's blog. Her two cats, Dorothy and Sinclair, are
first to try out her admittedly kitschy creations. Dorothy has proven
agreeable, but not Sinclair. "Sinclair does not enjoy modelling the hats. in fact, he likes to attack them," says Thomas.
A patterns book of hats for dogs isn't out
of the question. And Thomas also would like to rework her grandmother's
vintage patterns for a book: "She was a beautiful knitter who grew up in
Germany, so I'd want to make the patterns era-appropriate."
But first? She'll probably embark on a
holiday-themed book that puts more cats in outlandish hats. She has
learned that hats for cats sell.
Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua - 'Tiger Temple' - has long been a hit with tourists
They flock there to visit the Buddhist monks and their huge feline pets
However, a vet recently alerted officials to three tigers being missing
By
Afp
and
Ted Thornhill for MailOnline
Published: 24 April 2015
An
urgent headcount has taken place at a Thai temple that's home to 147
tigers in the care of monks after a vet complained to authorities that
three were missing.
Wat
Pha Luang Ta Bua in Thailand's western Kanchanaburi province - commonly
known as 'The Tiger Temple' - has long proved a hit among tourists who
flock there to visit the monks and be photographed next to their huge
feline pets.
However, Thai
wildlife officials began a headcount on Friday after allegations from a
temple vet earlier this week who complained to police that three tigers
had recently disappeared from the sanctuary, sparking fears they may
have been sold on.
Scroll down for video
An urgent headcount has taken place at
a Thai temple that's home to 147 tigers in the care of monks after a
vet complained to authorities that three were missing
A Thai Buddhist Monk fends off a playful attack from an Asian Tiger at
the Wat Pa Luangtabua temple
A Buddhist monk plays with a tiger at Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua
Abbot Phra Bhusit Khantitaro of the Tiger Temple with one of many tigers taken-in and raised there
A Buddhist monk walks near three resting tigers at the Tiger Temple
The tigers were led out in groups of four and tied to a tree to allow officials to scan their microchips
Cooling down: A Buddhist monk sprays water onto a baby tiger at The Tiger Temple in Thailand
Volunteers walk with a tiger on a leash during a head count at Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua
The
authorities say the temple has been keeping the animals without the
proper paperwork and have vowed to seize them, sparking standoffs in
recent weeks between officials and angry monks blocking their way.
Thailand's
Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP)
said earlier this week it planned to take the animals away on Friday. But
when officials arrived at the temple Friday morning they contented
themselves with counting the tigers, most of whom are microchipped, to
ascertain how many there are in the sanctuary.
A tiger has his chip implant read by Tiger Temple personnel during the head count
Affection: A Buddhist monk plays with two of the tigers at the temple
A Buddhist monk relaxes as a tiger prowls around the grounds
'We
have come to check and scan the tigers to see whether the numbers match
what we have or not,' DNP official Somsak Poopet told AFP, adding his
department said they had been told there should be 147 tigers at the
temple.
Asked
whether the department would consider seizing the animals he replied:
'We have that idea but in our actions so far it has not reached that
process yet.' Unlike previous visits, the monks did not object to officials entering the sanctuary, an AFP photographer on the scene said.
The tigers were led out in groups of four and tied to a tree to allow officials to scan their microchips.
Of the said 147 tigers, less than half were brought out to have their chips read
'The Tiger Temple' in western Thailand has
long proved a hit among tourists who flock there to be photographed
next to the monks and their huge feline pets
A warden hugs a tiger at The Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi province, western Thailand
Thai wildlife officials have been threatening to seize the 147 tigers being kept by monks at The Tiger Temple
Local animal rights groups have accused the temple of failing to properly look after the tigers. In
February, wildlife officials said they conducted a raid and discovered
dozens of hornbills, jackals and Asian bears that were being kept at the
sanctuary without the correct permits. 'I
think a lot of the people here are very motivated, I think they really
love the animals, but they're doing it absolutely the wrong way,' Edwin
Wiek, founder of Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, which has
campaigned to have the tigers removed, told AFP. 'Wildlife
management, whether that's in the wild or captivity, comes with a lot
of knowledge, a lot of rules, a lot of dos and don'ts. And walking
around with adult tigers like this, that could snap their mood at any
time, is an accident waiting to happen,' he added.
Temple
authorities were unavailable for comment Friday. But they insist they
are a genuine conservation project and have previously denied
allegations that they have failed to look after the animals or illegally
traffic in them.
Tigers play in their enclosure before having their chip implants read
A tiger rests on the ground as another in the background has his chip implant read
Tiger Temple personnel walk tigers back to their enclosure after they had their chip implants read
Walkies! A monk takes one of the tame tigers for a stroll in the dusty grounds of the temple
WWF
has released new camera trap footage from Lampung, Sumatra. The footage
caught a very rare moment as two critically endangered Sumatran tigers,
a male and female, give signals to each other that they are ready to
mate.
Remember Lowry Park Zoo's clouded leopard kitten?
The one whose bath-time shenanigans brought office productivity to a
halt last month? We're happy to report that the endangered tot, now
dubbed 'Mowgli', has reached the six-week mark and is still looking
strong.
After round-the-clock care from the zoo's veterinary staff and a bit
of strength-building tummy time (don't worry, video below), Mowgli has
reached an important milestone in his developement in that he's begun to
venture outside the animal hospital!
"We're still watching Mowgli 24-7, but we have introduced outdoor
exercise and playtime into his daily routine," the staff said in a press
release. "A rotation through different environments provides essential
sensory enrichment for continued development and confidence building."
Wildlife officials today walked back their threat
to remove the animals from Kanchanaburi’s troubled “Tiger Temple,”
saying they will instead travel there tomorrow to negotiate a way for
them to remain.
With the Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant
Conservation seemingly on a collision course with the intransigent
temple – a possibility hailed by its critics and wildlife organizations –
the department said today it faces too much resistance to removing the
revenue-generating wildlife from the temple and community.
“Officials are prepared to relocate the animals tomorrow,
but if we do it without negotiation, there will definitely be conflict,”
Nares Chomboon, Wildlife Breeding Department director, told Coconuts.
It’s a reversal from what department chief Nipon Chotibarn
announced April 16, when they vowed to “take the wild animals back and
relocate them to a suitable habitat” starting at 10am tomorrow.
“Tomorrow we will count how many animals there are and
record [that the animals belong to officials]. If the temple can find
someone to take responsibility of the animals [sign the document], then
they can stay, or if the temple allows us to take them back, the
department will promptly relocate them.
Moving all the animals – the tiger population was swollen from 10 to nearly 150 – would take months, he added.
They are concerned about repeating a tense standoff earlier
this month when officials backed by soldiers tried removing moon bears
from the site. More than a 100 monks and staff blocked government
trucks, and the animals were left suffering in the heat until a crane
was used to extricate the bears over a wall while a diversion was
created.
After years of alleged mistreatment and involvement in
illegal trafficking, the temple was targeted for enforcement after
former Veterinarian Somchai Wisetmongkolchai, who was legally empowered
to care for the animals, separated from the temple after accusing it of
selling several animals in December.
Beginning in February, a series of attempted raids and
studies were thwarted by the temple’s abbot, who refused to cooperate,
grant access or unlock the animals’ cages.
With Somchai no longer at the temple, Nares said the Tiger
Temple Foundation will be allowed to keep the animals if it can find a
new qualified individual to sign legal responsibility for keeping them
under the conditions set by the department, ensuring they receive proper
care and supervision by a veterinarian.
The current conflict follows similar contours to what
happened in 2001, when the department moved to remove its big cats after
finding the temple was keeping seven illegally. Threats were made, the
temple resisted and the matter was dropped.
Although the temple’s critics were cautiously optimistic
officials would shut down the place, where tourists pay THB600 to pet
and take selfies with the animals, officials said today they will allow the act to go on so long as it starts complying with the law.
One change? Nares said the temple was not authorized to collect entrance fees.
“Tourists will still be able to visit the animals but for
free of charge,” he said. “The foundation, however, can collect
donations for buying tiger food.”
Additional reporting by Prae Sakaowan. Photo: Roger Howard
By Mindy Stinner and Julia Matson Wagner Conservators Center
Published: Tuesday, April 21, 2015
The Conservators Center rescued 14 abused lions and tigers in 2004.
Four of the females arrived pregnant and gave birth to 15 cubs. The
“babies” are now old enough to be considered geriatric. Remarkably, five
of the original cats we rescued are still enjoying their golden years
at our wildlife conservancy. We are proud to provide them exceptional
care.
Today, fortunately, fewer exotic animals require rescue from dire
circumstances, and many of our residents are retirees from other animal
facilities. For instance, our most recent resident came to us from the
San Diego Zoo.
We support our animals by providing educational tours, field trips, and
family-oriented events. Visitors are thrilled to meet 20 different
species of exotic animals and often tell us how happy and healthy our
animals appear, and how passionate our staff is about their well-being.
But a bill currently moving through the N.C. House of Representatives
is threatening our residents’ peaceful world. If it passes as written,
most of the 80 animals in our care could be confiscated by the end of
this year. Those for whom new homes are not found could be sentenced to
death. This includes all of our exotic cats (large and small), wolves,
and ring-tailed lemurs.
HB554 is intended to protect public safety and animal welfare, two
worthy goals we support. But instead of helping achieve these goals,
this bill actually undermines both. It simultaneously permits
unregulated, uninspected facilities to operate legally, while
prohibiting federally regulated, licensed, and consistently inspected
facilities (like ours) from operating past Dec. 1.
More than 25 USDA-licensed sites across North Carolina currently house
affected species. The only zoos in N.C. protected by this bill are the
three accredited by the AZA (a private organization with no regulatory
authority), all of which receive taxpayer funding. Our legislators are
currently poised to spend $25 million on the N.C. Zoo while
simultaneously considering a bill that would potentially shutter homes
for hundreds of animals.
The listed species could only be rehomed to wildlife sanctuaries and
AZA zoos. But our conservancy alone houses more big cats than the three
North Carolina AZA zoos combined, so we doubt they can offer homes to
all. We are also unsure how this bill will impact our tigers currently
on loan to one of these zoos, the Greensboro Science Center.
We are equally concerned that wildlife sanctuaries would be forced to
close if prohibited from engaging in commercial activities. Those
offering tours could not charge admission, a critical source of income
that supports the animals’ care.
Ending our own tour business would cause layoffs and economic ripple
effects. More than 14,000 visitors toured our conservancy in 2014, but
that doesn’t just benefit our bottom line. This program, supporting our
animals’ care, is also the main impetus for a $1.8 million impact on our
region by the organization’s spending and because of visitors
patronizing nearby businesses.
USDA licensing is only required for facilities engaging in commercial
activity, therefore, some that currently offer animal rescue services
and public tours under a USDA license would no longer be inspected and
licensed under this bill. But they could still continue housing animals
and accepting new rescues! Do you want to live near an unregulated
big-cat sanctuary?
This legislation would require at least $250,000 in liability
insurance, which makes sense. But the required deductible is capped at
$250 — which does not. That’s why such a policy doesn’t seem to actually
exist. The state would have to compel insurance companies to make this
coverage available, and the rates on a policy with these parameters
would likely be prohibitively expensive. We currently carry a much
larger policy, with an appropriately higher deductible.
The effective date for the law does not allow time for compliance. Even
with considerably more lead time, a similar bill in Ohio led to an
unfortunate standoff; at least 10 confiscated exotic animals have been
living in 200 square-foot indoor holding pens since January, fates
hanging in the balance as lawyers sort out details not appropriately
considered when the bill was written.
We strongly support appropriate regulation. But we cannot condone
legislation that chokes licensed businesses out of existence, removes
regulatory oversight from facilities that house large predators, and
potentially forces healthy animals to be euthanized.
An exemption for all USDA-licensed organizations is a critical starting
point for a bill that actually protects public safety and ensures
animal welfare. If you agree, please contact your state representatives,
whom you can find at www.ncleg.net. You can view the bill and learn more at our website, www.ConservatorsCenter.org.
Mindy Stinner is executive director and Julia Matson Wagner is assistant director of the Conservators Center in Burlington.
Chai Li, a 6-year-old clouded leopard at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, is pregnant with at least two cubs
At least two endangered clouded leopard cubs are expected in the
Asian Forest Sanctuary area at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in a
few weeks. Next month could be Mothers’ May at the zoo in more than one regard.
An ultrasound confirmed the pregnancy in 6-year-old clouded leopard
Chai Li (pronounced Chai-lye), who has given birth to five cubs in three
previous litters, zoo General Curator Karen Goodrowe Beck said. Six-year-old Nah Fun (pronounced Nah-foon) is the father. The cubs are due around May 12. Mother’s Day is May 10.
Clouded leopards are listed as endangered by the US Fish and Wildlife
Service and as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium participates in Association of Zoos
& Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan managed breeding programs for
clouded leopards; the zoo has breeding
recommendations for this species. “We are delighted at the prospect of adding to the populations and
genetic diversity of this animal species,” Goodrowe Beck said.
The tiger sanctuary has been told their 147 cats must be handed over
Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yanasampanno does not have permits for the tigers
The animals will be rehoused at breeding centres in Thailand
Animal
rights activists have been campaigning against the treatment of the
chained tigers posing with tourists for photos for years
By
Becky Pemberton For Mailonline
Published:
21 April 2015
From now on there will be a lot less facebook photos with people cuddling up to tigers on their Thailand holidays. The
famous Tiger Temple just outside of Bangkok, popular with tourists for
being able to interact with the big cats, has been forced to shut due to
keeping the animals without permits.
Wat
Pa Luangta Bua Yanasampanno has been told that their 147 tigers must be
handed over to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant
Conservation by Friday or they will be seized. The
news will no doubt please animal rights activists who have
been campaigning against the mistreatment of the big cats at the
sanctuary.
End of Tiger Temple! The temple, just
outside of Bangkok, has been told all animals must be handed over by
Friday as the monks do not have permits for them
The
Bangkok Post reported that the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant
Conservation's Department Chief, Nipon Chotiban, had issued the closure
following a raid in February. The
investigation was launched following multiple complaints of trafficking
endangered species, illegally selling animals and possible mistreatment
of the animals.
Although
the results of the raid have not revealed to the public, the chief has
said the temple did not have permits for the cats. Chotiban
says that the tigers are to be moved to the Khao Pra Thap Chang
Wildlife Breeding Centre in Chom Bung district and Khao Son Wildlife
Breeding Centre in Suan Phung district in Ratchaburi province.
Animal rights activists have been complaining against the treatment of the tigers for years
The carnivores at the temple are hand-raised from an early age by monks in an attempt to control their aggressive behaviour
Having a picture with tigers is a popular tourist attraction at the Kanchanaburi sanctuary
Thai
Visa News reported the Wildlife Conservation Office director, Tuanjai Nujdamrong, said: 'As Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua does not have proper cages and
clear animal nurturing facilities, we can see that the temple has no
intention to open as a public zoo.
'Therefore,
they did not receive a reply when they sought a licence extension from
the department and their [former] licence is no longer valid.'
The tiger sanctuary, ran by Buddhist monks, has been open near Kanchanaburi since 1994.
It has been shrouded by controversy and numerous complaints about the treatment of the chained up tigers.
The tigers will be rehoused at the
Khao Pra Thap Chang Wildlife Breeding Centre in Chom Bung and Khao Son
Wildlife Breeding Centre in Ratchaburi province
A Buddhist monk gives a tiger a drink from a bottle at Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yanasampanno
Donors to a stem cell bank include a Sumatran tiger and clouded leopard from Zoo Atlanta
Mary Jo DiLonardo
Jalal, the Zoo Atlanta tiger that contributed cells to the project
Photograph courtesy of Zoo Atlanta
It’s a long way from the jungles of Sumatra to a lab in Athens,
Georgia, but two University of Georgia researchers hope to create a stem
cell bank that could save endangered big cats. Its first deposits are
cells collected from Zoo Atlanta’s Jalal, a Sumatran tiger, and Moby, a
clouded leopard. Franklin West, assistant professor of regenerative
medicine, and Steven Stice, director of UGA’s Regenerative Bioscience
Center, teamed to create the stem cell bank and crowdsource funding. We
talked to West about their planned “frozen zoo.”
How did you get into stem cell work?
I started with human embryonic stem cells and turned them into sperm. I
always get the question, “Isn’t there already enough sperm in the
world?” But there is so much infertility. Turning stem cells into sperm
allows you to study every single stage of sperm development.
What made you decide on tigers and leopards?
We could use stem cell technology with a lot of species. But the problem
is, when you start trying to save elephants, we don’t know a lot about
their reproductive biology like we do with big cats, because we all have
cats as pets. We chose the Sumatran tiger because it’s highly
endangered; there are only 400 left. There are so few individuals that
relatives are starting to breed with one another, leading to genetic
problems in cubs. The clouded leopard is not endangered but threatened.
How does it work?
We take skin cells when the animals are sedated. We are able to generate
stem cells from those skin cells and then turn the stem cells into
sperm and eggs, which can be fertilized. From there, we can put that
embryo into a recipient animal—like a domestic cat that thinks it’s
pregnant with its own offspring.
What are the possible implications?
Theoretically you could make thousands of embryos and transfer them to
thousands of cats, and the species could be doing fairly well within a
couple of years. It could literally go from critically endangered to
being off the endangered species list altogether. It would be huge.
A big problem in zoos is that they’ll have only four or five animals
of a species. When the population is small and you have limited genetic
diversity, you have health problems when you start breeding.
Stem cells are immortal; the embryos would essentially live forever.
You could create what we could call a frozen zoo. They are already doing
this for seeds, like some species of corn that are resistant to
drought. You basically have an insurance policy against extinction that
could be caused by natural or man-made catastrophes like global warming.
Why crowdsource through GeorgiaFunder instead of soliciting research grants?
There’s really not a good funding mechanism for this kind of endangered
species conservation work. So this is a grassroots effort. I feel like
enough people out there really think it’s important. If we get the word
out about what we can do to save endangered species, then people will
pitch in.
Tiger theory How do you go from tiny cells to big cats? Franklin West walked us through the theoretical process.
Two Sumatran tiger (male and female) skin cell biopsies turn into 10,000 skin cells
Which are reprogrammed into 5,000 stem cells
Which are developed into 10,000 sperm and 10,000 eggs
Which form 10,000 embryos after fertilization
Which are transferred into 1,000 female cats
And develop into 10,000 kittens, which change the face of an entire species on the brink of extinction.
Felix was finally found after he wandering New York's JFK airport for two weeks. Photo: Facebook
Felix disappeared when his
airline-approved carrier was crushed while being unloaded from an Etihad
Airways flight coming from Abu Dhabi to the U.S.
The pet’s owners, Jennifer Stewart and Joe Naaman, were flying home after living in Abu Dhabi for three years.
Bonnie Folz, who leads a volunteer group that assists find lost and stolen pets, helped find and identify the cat. The
beloved pet had escaped from his carrier after it was crushed during
the 14-hour flight from Abu Dhabi to New York. Photo: Facebook"I
got a sighting call at 12 a.m. Tuesday morning from an airport driver
who said a cat that looked like Felix just crossed in front of his truck
and ran to an area we had searched with tracking dog last week,” Folz
wrote on her Facebook site. “I set food out yesterday morning and they
set traps later in the day.”
Felix the cat was found and identified on Thursday. The Facebook site Jack The Cat is Lost in AA Baggage at JFK
- founded after another cat went missing at the airport - reported that
Felix is doing well. According to the site, Felix’s owner Joe Naaman
said: "Felix is definitely happy to be home and believe it or not,
almost back in his stride! Taking him to the vet to be checked this
morning!"
Felix is now happily reunited with his owners. Photo: Facebook
"Other
than a bit thin and needing a grooming, Felix looked great. Once he
actually saw Joe, he starting meowing and prancing around. Great
reunion!," said Folz, according to the Facebook page.
This is not the first time a cat has been lost at the airport, but not every story has a happy ending.
Jack The Cat is Lost in AA Baggage at JFK
was dedicated to finding a cat who was lost for 61 days at JFK. The cat
Jack was eventually found after falling through the ceiling in the
Customs and Border Patrol offices. However, Jack subsequently died from
his injuries and malnutrition.
The group Where is Jack? was founded in Jack’s honour.
Phil Wilkins,THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
