We have had to adapt our photographic days slightly since re-opening to comply with new guidelines/restrictions and to keep everyone, photographers and staff, safe. All the same great opportunities are there for you to take some fantastic photos, just in smaller group sizes.
We still take photographers in to all the same enclosures, and all the animals have been as brilliant as usual, but there is no doubt that the real stars have been our wildcat kittens!
There are a lot of visitors photos of our kittens up on the interweb on various social sites etc. I hadn't had the chance to take many recent photos of them myself, but looking through the many than had been shared, I had to make time to spend with them one evening last week.
They are growing fast, but still look very kitten like. Kind of going in to that leggy stage. Hilda's two kittens, who are slightly younger, seem to be a little shyer but still do venture out most of the time. Kendra's two however are as bold as anything. Often meeting us by the door as we enter the enclsoure now.
Their favourite spot seems to be under the gorse on the right hand side of the enclosure, and if you visit you will see the flattened grass where they they rolled around and played on.
Hilda's prefer to stay a little further back, and enjoy the large logs that stretch through the middle of the pen.
This is one of Hilda's above, she certainly knows she's a looker posing like that :-)
We will keep the kittens on display up to the end of the year, so still lots of chances to see them grow and mature over the following weeks. Then early next year we will have to start thinking about moving them off display before they move to their new homes, to allow the parents to hopefully breed again.
If you want to see them, they are often active throughout the day now, and our wildcat keeper talk times are still 11.30am and 2.00pm.
Kendra’s kittens are very clued up now to the Keeper talks and meal at the end of the day and ready to grab food themselves from the Keepers. Lovely photos Matt.
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