Thursday, December 8, 2016

Threatened Cat Thursday


          Meeee-ow everybody- the kitties are back and, obviously, it’s a ‘Threatened Cat’ Thursday.  Let’s meow about that Amur Leopard but first- note this:

          Trump just named a nut in charge of EPA.  That also means that these leopards could be in big, big trouble just like any other animal in its area.  Why?  Bepaws this country is going to go so drill happy that it’s going to make a lot of humans and animals sick.  Now, with that being meowed let’s hope that other countries get their heads together and won’t let the USA ruin the planet that badly.

          Let’s paw along.  This subject needs to be changed big time, we have to think paws-itively bepaws it’s Christmas.  Paws-itive thoughts and information need to come out of this, so let’s meow on…

          The animal’s range, as noted is getting bigger.  (Even though you have to wish they’d stay out of China.) But the success of births in zoos seem to be getting more and more impressive.  Brookfield Zoo just debuted their baby leopard recently.  (That zoo is in Illinois for your personal reference.)  And the Pittsburgh Zoo, also has a young Amur Leopard which is as cute as can be.  There’s also a story going around that the people at that zoo didn’t even realize the mother was pregnant until maybe the last month and the baby was a literal surprise!  The point about it is that the Amur Leopards there have some age on them so the Pittsburgh Zoo baby helped throw the word ‘fact,’ out the window when it came to Amur Leopards.

          Proving once again that humans don’t know everything.  Oh surprise, surprise, surprise…

          Pawing along- if you want to get technical about this, let’s note that an Amur Leopard is pregnant between 90-105 days.  It’s been noted that they can have 2-6 kittens but, as demonstrated by the Pittsburgh Zoo’s Amur Leopard, having an older cat might just get you one.  Of course everything depends on age, that only make sense.  These cubs are born in the spring or early summer and, naturally, since the habitats, are different this will change when they’re in the wild.  The babies can be weaned after 3 months and on their own in 2 years.

          Don’t get this wrong, I love hearing about baby Amur Leopards- but when it comes down to it- I hope they stay safe in a zoo or in a park so guarded that you need identification to even see it, let alone get in there.  I’m not sure how zoo babies would act in the wild- to tell you the truth maybe I don’t even want to know.  Word to the wise though for you screaming animal lovers that always say, ‘SET THEM FREE!’ I’d rather they be in a nice zoo then shot 2 days later in the wild.

          But let’s get off the editorializing.  Stories about mothers and babies won’t be out there because the cat’s to rare and my guess is that they’d be to hard to get to.  Judging by zoo leopards- you can imagine that the mother takes great care of them and enjoys playtime no matter where they are.  Of course, they probably show the kittens how to hunt and the mother leopard in a zoo does her own improvisation.  The one thing I liked though was that the mom and the baby Amur Leopard I saw really seemed to love each other and that will be a good thought to hang onto until next ‘Threatened Cat’ Thursday!!

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