Wild Cats World did a small “Tour de France” on kind invitation by Parc des Félins and Zoo de Maubeuge, to talk about (wild) cats conservation. The park is of course the dream of every wild catlover, as for space and species, while Maubeuge showed us how it is possible to provide an enriched life to the animals with little means and space.
Of course we kindly accepted to see the Sri Lanka leopardcubs with their (very protective!) mom, a special birth for the species and for a small park like this.
As for the sandcats (felis marguerita) we discussed the possibility to start with this gorgeous species at our WCW SA project. It would be great to have this species next to the Black footed Cats, the two smallest African wild catspecies. More about this later at a later stage. For now enjoy this photo and many more that will follow!
Update
Sri Lanka leopard cubs, endangered subspecies of the leopard (panther).
We were kindly invited to get a first glimpse of the 6 weeks old cubs at Zoo Maubeuge, the first successful litter of Sri Lanka leopard cubs of 2014 in the world-wide breeding program. The leopardmom was very protective and was hiding the cubs in the straw so it was very difficult to get a glimpse and eventually a good picture. Aren’t they cute?
The Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) is a leopard subspecies native to Sri Lanka. Classified as Endangered by IUCN, the population is believed to be declining due to numerous threats including poaching for trade and human-leopard conflicts. No subpopulation is larger than 250 individuals.