..* WILD CATS *
There are 36 species of wild cat ranging from the largest of the felids - the (Siberian) Amur Tiger - to the tiny rusty spotted cat & the Black footed cat. Endemic wild cats are found on every continent except for Australia and antarctica.
(Feral cats are different as they are a species introduced accidentally or otherwise by man.)
Increasing human populations & exploitation of natural resources, combined with persecution & expansion into the wilderness, is pushing all of the true wild cats into decline & towards extinction.
Wild cats are an indicator species - meaning that if their populations are healthy - so is their habitat & food chain.
Some are less vulnerable than others while certain species are labelled as critical such as the iberian lynx.
List of Wildcats
Lynx - Iberian/Canada/Eurasian
Wildcat (scottish/african/european)
You can encounter Big & wild cats in the U.K. whilst helping to fund their very survival.
Please visit the Wildlife Heritage Foundation website for more information.
The vast majority of modern day zoo's & wildlife parks are responsible, & work extremely hard to care for & conserve - not only the animals in their care - but their entire species & the ecology that supports them. Public opinion of zoos can be low, a remnant of past, arrogant insults that mankind has cast on nature. Perhaps you think that all zoo animals should be wild & free? So do their keepers, but sadly they would be in serious danger if released to habitat loss, starvation, & extinction at the hands of poachers etc.
The aim of British & Irish Zoo's & Aquariums is to secure a healthy - wild - future for wildlife via a network of active, captive & educational conservation, with the goals of release & repopulation into the wild when it is safe & realistic to be able to do so. We need to support conservation efforts wherever we can by visiting zoo's & aquariums, helping to finance the care of the animals within them & help them, to increase awareness that the smallest of our actions & even purchases can have profound consequences. The more money we can provide these centres, the larger the animal enclosures can be & the better care they can have! Hard financial times hit these animals too, as we become reluctant to pay money to visit them. It can cost £1000 per week to keep just 1 captive tiger alive & well!
The threats facing natures endangered animals are very real, & will have profound consequences if we do nothing. Please show your support for wildlife by visiting zoo's & aquariums!
The juvenile leopard cat that came into Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, found straying in Chiswick!
The Eurasian lynx is the largest of the bob tailed cats, they are an intelligent cat with strong spacial awareness. They have a wide distribution across Eurasia
The Pallas cat lives in the himalayan foothills & has the longest fur of any cat (winter coat)
Servals have the longest legs of any cat species, perfect for leaping in the air to catch a bird in flight & to raise those radar ears to locate prey.
