Earlier this week we sexed our wildcat kittens in preparation for moving them on to other places. Unfortunately earlier this year Iona lost her lone kitten, and then a couple of weeks ago Kendra lost one of hers after it had a nasty fall in the enclosure. However the remaining two kittens produced by Kendra are doing very well and look extremely healthy.
One of them is a female and the other a male. We will most likely be holding onto the female for ourselves as Lex a fantastic cat and it will be nice to hold back one of his offspring. This year also looks like it may be the last for our eldest cat "Una", who I fear may not be with us much longer and so this kitten will be a nice replacement for her. We will likely call her "Isla"
The young male cat "Richy Junior" will be re-located by the studbook holder, currently at Port-Lympne Zoo.
Our wildcats are part of the national studbook for Scottish Wildcats, currently held at Port-Lympne Zoo in Kent. The co-ordinator there is responsible for the relocation of captive wildcats part of the programme and ensuring the genetic purity as far is possible of captive wildcats. The hope is that one day there will be a safe haven in which to release pure Scottish Wildcats back into Scotland and keep our last remaining native cat in the country a lot longer than if we did nothing at all.
For more information on Scottish Wildcats and the efforts being made to ensure their survival, check out the Scottish Wildcat Association.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.