“Before they were largely extirpated, wolves used to kill coyotes and also disrupt their behaviour through what we call the ‘ecology of fear.’ Coyotes have a flexible, wide-ranging diet, but they really prefer rabbits and hares, and they may also be killling lynx directly,” one of the researchers said. They also say in areas where wolves were reintroduced and began to grow in number, coyote populations were reduced by about half.

Another issue related to the increase in coyotes is the cost to humans incurred when trying to reduce or control their populations. Reportedly this number has reached hundreds of millions of dollars over the years. The presence of wolves in the same habitats is more effective in controlling coyote numbers, and of course this benefit occurs at no cost. So clearly wolves do provide a benefit to the ecosystems they live in, and yet ranchers and some hunters have tried to characterize them as nothing more than pests, or savage beasts that need to be eradicated again.

Source: IUCN/SSC Cat News Autumn 2011

A sedated leopard lies in a cage in Hoedspruit before its transfer to Malawi. In only eight years, South African NGO African Parks Network has reintroduced over 2,500 animals in the Majete Wildlife Reserve.

We recently came across this item about the rebuilding of an eco-system in Africa, and were very impressed with their thoroughness.

In 1955, the government of Malawi set aside land for the Majete Wildlife Reserve. Over the years extensive poaching severely depleted its wildlife, leaving only a few hundred baboons.

A conservation group took over management of  the reserve in 2003, with the aim of bringing income to local people through eco-tourism, and work as game wardens. If the local people benefit from the wildlife, they will work to preserve it.

It is no easy task to re-establish an entire ecosystem. The vegetation in the reserve remained intact and since the group took over, 2,500 antelopes, elephants, buffalo and rhino have been reintroduced. Then they began moving in the animals at the top of the food chain.

Two leopards joined the reserve last October, and two more recently made the trip. The leopards are wild animals being moved or translocated from the wild in South Africa, so they already know how to hunt. On their arrival they will be kept in separate cages for a few weeks. When they are released into their new 700 square kilometer home, they will be wearing radio collars so scientists can keep track of them.

Read more about this carefully thought out project - Southern Africa: Couple of South African Leopards On Malawi Mission | Conservation News.

Black-footed cats are one of the smallest cat species. They make up for their small size with attitude, willing to take on prey much larger than they are. There is a legend they can kill a giraffe. While this is hyperbole, it does speak to their ferocious nature.

Where most cats climb, the black-footed cat prefers to dig burrows, or find other places to hide.

Sand Cats from the hot deserts have fur on the pads of their feet to protect them from the scorching sand. These same fur-covered footpads make it difficult for researchers to track them as they don’t leave very distinct marks in the sand. Their claws are also blunt, due to a lack of sharpening surfaces and their digging habits.

Ben Williams captured this image of a snoozy Sand Cat under a heat lamp at Marwell Zoo in the UK. In spite of the weird lighting caused by the lamp, you can clearly see his fur-covered pad.

In contrast, the tropical forest dwelling Fishing Cats need bare, pliable footpads for gripping slippery rocks and branches near the water where they feed. Their claws are also very sharp, to aid in catching their slippery prey.

It’s often stated that Cheetahs have claws that don’t retract like those of other cats, but they actually have the same claw retraction mechanism as all the felid species. The difference is that their claws protrude beyond the fur, and cheetah claws lack the sheaths that cover the claws of other cats.

Cats that live in the grasslands and savannahs have rough, hardened footpads from constant movement over rough surfaces. With their claws retracted when they’re on the move, the tips are kept sharp enough to kill their prey.

No matter what the adaptation, there’s no question that cat paws are the most effective food-capturing equipment in the animal world!

Oncilla at SOSCare ©Peter Cromer

At the Reproduction Centre for Small Felids in the Rio de Janiero Zoo, researchers are trying to find ways to help the cats engage in more naturalistic behaviours through the use of environmental enrichment. The hope is that encouraging natural behaviours will help the cats behave in a more natural way and improve reproductive success.

In this study, researchers used two different scents in the cats’ enclosures and then recorded the cats’ behaviour. Their  behaviour was recorded using cameras, allowing researchers to take data around the clock instead of just during normal working hours when researchers were present.

Data were collected over a period of two months on eight individual cats. Each animal was observed for 360 hours. Baseline data were collected over a period of three consecutive days. After the three days, 1 g. of dried cinnamon was put into the cats’ enclosures among alfalfa and wood chips. The 1 g. of cinnamon was put in once a day for three days. During the subsequent three days, post-enrichment data were taken to analyze the effects of the cinnamon after it was no longer being placed in the enclosure.

At this point in the experiment, the researchers waited 30 days to allow the cinnamon to completely clear away. Then the next phase of the experiment began with researchers placing 1 g. of dried catnip in each of the cats’ enclosures, and following the procedure as listed above with the cinnamon.

After analyzing the data, it was discovered that there was a significant difference in pacing behaviour before, during, and after the introduction of the cinnamon. Cats paced less once cinnamon was introduced and for three days thereafter. This suggests that the benefit of this enrichment is prolonged. Researchers found no significant difference in pacing behaviour before, during, or after the addition of catnip to the enclosures. The authors were surprised by this finding but suggested it could be due to individual animals’ preferences or the way in which the catnip was presented.

Having used pacing as a measure of animal welfare in this study, the researchers conclude that olfactory enrichment can positively affect animal welfare as it decreases pacing behaviour.

This study is extremely useful for keepers of all felids as it provides good data that suggest inexpensive olfactory enrichment can improve animal welfare.

“That cat looks just like the one we have at home” is often heard in the cat house, especially around black footed cats and sand cats. They have many similarities to house cats. However, they also have unique adaptations. The sand cat, for instance, has tufts of fur between their toes that protect their paws on hot sand.

Like all felids, sand cats are fastidious about their baths.

slurp

The Serval is one of the few small wild cat species that are not on any endangered list, although their numbers are declining due to loss of habitat. These cats like to hunt near wetlands, which are being drained and filled in throughout their entire range.

While its cloudy spots make this tree-loving cat blend in, its teeth make it stand out. Proportional to its size, the clouded leopard has the largest canines of any cat.

One of the first things I learned upon arrival was that the park is heavily involved with captive breed and release programmes, contributing to various wild populations around the world, therefore assisting species whose numbers are dwindling. The emphasis was strongly focused towards the welfare of the animals rather than just making profit. This is an example I wish many more zoos would follow.

Over the course of the day I had the opportunity to feed margays, fishing cats, ocelots and Indian desert cats to mention a few. Preparing “feeds” is, in itself, a fairly mammoth task which took up some part of the day and other duties included cleaning the enclosures and conducting general maintenance of the living areas. Headkeeper Neville Buck and I began constructing a new, more insulated roof for the den of a resident pair of margays – England in the winter is not ideal for warm weather cats, but every effort is made to keep each animal comfortable and healthy.

All in all, I feel my Port Lympne experience was infact quite eye-opening. As somebody who has studied both big and small cats for a while, it was a pleasure to witness several species in the flesh for the first time. Seeing a picture in a book and actually being up close looking at them face to face are two very different things. Some may be smaller or bigger than you might imagine. Though one thing is for sure – all are twice as beautiful than any photo could ever portray.

Fishing cat hides among the ivy

About the author: ISEC Canada member Brad Parsk is a conservationist and wild cat enthusiast from the U.K. He has assisted in projects throughout Europe and North America preserving threatened species and their habitats.

See more photos of the small wild cats at Port Lympne from ISEC member Ben Williams:

• Asiatic wildcat
• Pallas’ cat
• Rusty-spotted cat
• Caracal
• Margay

© Rob Moyes

The ‘Sand Cat in the Hat’ photo is an eight-year-old, mother-raised cat owned by Jungle Cat World in Ontario.

“After desensitizing the cat to the hat, the hat was lowered by a thread while taking advantage of the species’ ‘freezing’ behaviour. This well-known survival instinct most likely evolved due to the lack of vegetative cover and extreme heat in the desert”.

We couldn’t possibly find a better photograph to wish our readers and members the very happiest of holiday seasons!