Wild Cat Database

Although, it helps domesticated cats in shelters and not their Wild Cat relatives, FreeKibbleKat is just too good to not write about it.  FreeKibbleKat was created by 12 year old Mimi Ausland from Bend, Oregon.  The premise of the site is simple and sweet, answer the daily trivia question and regardless, whether the question is answered correctly or not, 20 pieces of kibble are donated to cats in shelters.  As of June 2008, over two million pieces of kibble have been donated.  Where does the kibble come from?  All of the kibble is donated from ZooToo, a pet community social media network

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All species of wild cats are unique, intelligent, instrumental to the environment and they deserve to be protected.  I find it incredibly odd that we live in a country that feels a dwindling population of one of the species of wild cats should be hunted in order to keep the numbers in line with other wild life.  In Utah alone, it is anticipated that approximately 300 cougars will be hunted and killed.   Last year, an average of 311 were killed before it was discovered that the quota had been met.  Although, eleven is a small number, it is obvious to see that the hunting of cougars is not well monitored.  And for that matter,  311 were acknowledged, there might have been several more not recorded.

I have read that that the Cougar population is estimated at approximately 5,100 in Oregon.  I have read several articles supporting the hunting of Cougars and the threat of the high numbers of this wild cat.  I also came across a rather disturbing picture of two young girls (who were “hunted” by a cougar that was later killed).  The girls can be seen smiling in front of a cougar with what appears to be a bullet hole and bloody area on its side.  It reminded me of a black and white photo I came across of a young girl, smiling, in front of jaguar that had been killed in the southern part of the United States in the early twentieth century.

Neosho, Missouri is located on the western edge of the Missouri Ozarks. The Ozarks conjure images of mountain lions, banjos and sprawling, unpopulated mountainous landscapes. However, as far the mountain lions go, the Missouri population of mountain lions was killed off in the early 20th century (although, there are the occasional sightings of mountain lions through out the state).

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Fur Ball 2008

People seem to have very strong opinions about Big Cat Rescue. Regardless of what those thoughts might be, Big Cat Rescue is a lean, mean, money making machine and that is said with the utmost respect. The organization’s innovative fund raising ideas are both successful and fresh, always appearing one step ahead of the curve. A lot of non profit organizations could learn from Big Cat Rescue’s marketing, public relations and overall, money generating approach.

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Not only was Saturday a special day for the Kristiansand Dyrepark Zoo in Norway because last year’s imported lions and lionesses successful mated but also because the coupling proved to be incredibly fruitful. Sera, a lioness at Norway’s living zoo, gave birth to four healthy lion cubs this past weekend, doubling the zoo’s Lion Count in one swoop from four to eight! Congratulations to The Kristiansand Dyrepark Zoo for its newest arrivals.

The concept behind Wild Cat Database came about after a recent trip to the San Diego Zoo. A lot of people go to zoos for the overall experience of the zoo, specifically to see a wide variety of wild animals; however, I had gone to the zoo that day to see all of the different types of wild cats. Although, incredibly unique and rightfully treasured, Lions and Tigers are zoo staples. I was looking for the lessor known wild cats, such as the Andean Mountain Cat, the Margay and the Jaguarundi. Unfortunately, my search was unsuccessful but I did see a lot of beautiful cats, like the striking Snow Leopard and the rugged Fishing Cat. This led me to realize how valuable a database would be to search for locations of particular species of wild cats and so Wild Cat Database was created.

Come back and visit this site often as information will be updated and added, current news regarding Wild Cats will be posted and fun games/puzzles will appear to stimulate knowledge.