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Leopards, Etc
I went to a presentation of live wildcats today given by an organization
called "Leopards, Etc". The company consists of a husband and wife who have been working with wild cats for more than 20 years and have a large facility where they keep about 20 animals. Then they have public events where they show 5 of the cats (different ones each time) and talk about them. It's definitely a hands-off kind of thing, but I got to see them up pretty close. Today's cats included a Canadian lynx, an ocelot, a cheetah, a caracal, and an African leopard. They were all beautiful, and the cheetah was especially well-tempered and happy hanging out with his trainer. The guy just kept feeding him little bits of meat and petting his face, and the cat would lick his hand and purr - *loudly*. Yes, cheetahs purr. But the couple was insistent on telling us that, no matter what it looked like, these animals don't "love" them. Although they live in captivity and have formed bonds with humans, they're wild and they could attack their human caretakers at any time. All the cats have been bred in captivity (ie, none taken from the wild) and will live that way for the rest of their lives because they would be unable to survive in the wild. Here's a website about what they do and the animals they have: http://www.leopardsetc.com/ It was a pretty cool event! Joyce |
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wrote in message ... I went to a presentation of live wildcats today given by an organization called "Leopards, Etc". The company consists of a husband and wife who have been working with wild cats for more than 20 years and have a large facility where they keep about 20 animals. Then they have public events where they show 5 of the cats (different ones each time) and talk about them. It's definitely a hands-off kind of thing, but I got to see them up pretty close. Today's cats included a Canadian lynx, an ocelot, a cheetah, a caracal, and an African leopard. They were all beautiful, and the cheetah was especially well-tempered and happy hanging out with his trainer. The guy just kept feeding him little bits of meat and petting his face, and the cat would lick his hand and purr - *loudly*. Yes, cheetahs purr. But the couple was insistent on telling us that, no matter what it looked like, these animals don't "love" them. Although they live in captivity and have formed bonds with humans, they're wild and they could attack their human caretakers at any time. All the cats have been bred in captivity (ie, none taken from the wild) and will live that way for the rest of their lives because they would be unable to survive in the wild. Here's a website about what they do and the animals they have: http://www.leopardsetc.com/ It was a pretty cool event! Joyce Thank you for introducing me to Leopards Etc. It is a great website. The photographs and infromation are wonderful. Charleen |
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Charleen Welton wrote:
Thank you for introducing me to Leopards Etc. It is a great website. The photographs and infromation are wonderful. Aren't those photos beautiful? And it was really fun to look at some of them and say to myself, "I've met him/her!" They do lectures/meet-the-kitty demos from Sacramento to San Jose (Calif). So if you're in or near the SF Bay Area in California, you could go to the exhibit next time they have one. I don't think anyone on this ng does live around here, though. Hopitus *used* to live in this area, and Yoj is a bit south of here (but she could visit the Feline Conservation Center in Rosamond, north of LA), but I might be the sole representative of this particular corner of the earth. Joyce |
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