The Future Protectors of the World s Wild Cats FCF Convention. FOR KIDS and YOUTH. Sections: Feline Conservation Federation News and Events...

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FOR KIDS and YOUTH The Future Protectors of the World s Wild Cats Jul Aug 2012 Volume 2, Issue 4 Sections: Feline Conservation Federation News and Events.... 2 FCF Member Zoos and Sanctuaries to Visit.

.. 10 2012 FCF Convention Last month, several FCF members and conservationists all over the world met for the 2012 FCF Convention that was held in Cincinnati Ohio.

at the ambassador show, seeing the new cougar exhibit and the rest of the many species of cats at the Cincinnati Zoo, hearing speakers from all over the world talk about what they are doing to save

1 FOR KIDS and YOUTH The Future Protectors of the World s Wild Cats Jul Aug 2012 Volume 2, Issue 4 Sections: Feline Conservation Federation News and Events FCF Member Zoos and Sanctuaries to Visit... 7 Learning about the Cats... 8 Efforts to Save the Wild Cats... 9 Feline Fun FCF Convention Last month, several FCF members and conservationists all over the world met for the 2012 FCF Convention that was held in Cincinnati Ohio. For those that attended, it meant gfa getting to see and play with baby cats, watching adult cheetahs run top speed during the cheetah run and servals jumping several feet in the air to catch a toy at the ambassador show, seeing the new cougar exhibit and the rest of the many species of cats at the Cincinnati Zoo, hearing speakers from all over the world talk about what they are doing to save cats, and eating supper while riding up and down the river on a riverboat. For the kids, it also meant getting to play fun games about cats, making cat toys and much more. The 2013 FCF Convention will be at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We hope to see you there! Glossary Feline Conservation Federation P.O. Box Myrtle Beach, SC The Feline Conservation Federation is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the conservation of wild felines through preservation, education and research. Cheetah from Cincinnati Zoo 1

2 FELINE CONSERVATION FEDERATION NEWS AND EVENTS Produced by the Youth Education Committee Chair: Debi Willoughby Lauren Bean Deeanna Croasmun Dawn English Amy Flory Robert Hohn Pam Sellner Dave Sol To Unsubscribe from the mailing list: Send an to nservation.org and put unsubscribe in the subject line. FCF ANNUAL CONVENTION 2012 Cincinnati, OH By Debi Willoughby This year s convention was another amazing time! It all started on Wednesday, June 6 with the Husbandry and Wildlife Educator Courses. These courses are a great way to learn about how to have and care for wild cats legally AND how to become a wildlife educator so you can spread the word about wild cats to the public. There was a surprise visit by wildlife educators from the Cincinnati Zoo! They brought along some of their special friends: a 2 year old alligator, a prehensile tail porcupine and a Eurasian owl! We learned all about these animals and how they survive in the wild. My favorite was the porcupine because he waddled when he walked! The next night was the Ice Breaker for the convention. That s when most people show up, hang out and have a good time! We also got to meet and hang out with some furry friends that came to the convention: a baby kinkajou, a baby red kangaroo, a baby wallaby, baby snow tigers, a 5 year old ocelot, a baby ringtail lemur, a 1year old Canada lynx, a baby geoffroy s cat and a baby bobcat! Wow, what fun that was! Friday was an amazing trip to the Cincinnati Zoo! This zoo has over 500 animals and is the 2 nd oldest zoo in the country! They have everything from lizards to white lions to elephants and everything in between! We spent the whole day walking around the zoo and attending the special events set up just for us! We got a sneak peek of a new cat exhibit area that is still being worked on, watched their famous Animal Show, ate ice cream with a cheetah and got to watch a private cat show just for registered FCF feline handlers! The day was awesome and we were all exhausted by the end of the day! Saturday was a day to listen to people talk about their interesting jobs and conservation efforts. There was also a kids class going on at the same time. In the kids class we learned about all kinds of wild cats, watched the baby kangaroo hop all around the room, colored wild cat pictures, played wild cat games and had a fun time doing other crafts! Saturday night we all boarded a big river boat and floated up and down the Ohio River while we ate dinner and joined in the banquet auction. The food was yummy and the auction was fun! All I can say is WOW! What an amazing trip! I can t wait until next year so I can go to the next convention in Myrtle Beach! 2 WILD CATS: African Golden Cat Andean Cat Asian Golden Cat Bay Cat Black-Footed Cat Bobcat Canada Lynx Caracal Cheetah Clouded leopard Cougar Eurasian Lynx Fishing Cat Flat-Headed Cat Geoffroy's Cat Iberian Lynx Iriomote Cat Jaguar Jaguarundi Jungle Cat Kodkod or Guina Leopard Leopard Cat Lion Marbled Cat Margay Ocelot Oncilla Pallas Cat Pampas Cat Rusty-Spotted Cat Sand Cat Serval Snow leopard Tiger Wildcat

3 Top and Right: prehensile tailed porcupine Bottom: owl from Cincinnatti Zoo 3

4 Cheetah Encounter and Run Cheetah run at Cincinnati Zoo Tommy T cheetah at Cincinnati Zoo cat ambassador show 4

5 This ocelot (left) shows how cats climb down and this serval (below) shows how high it can jump at the Cinncinnati Zoo Cat Ambassador Show New cougar enclosure at Cincinnati Zoo 5

6 Geoffroy s cat and bobcat 6 Michelle McKay and baby bobcat

7 FCF MEMBER ZOOS AND SANCTUARIES TO VISIT Alligator Adventure 1891 Colony Drive Surfside Beach, SC Animal Junction 146 Frog Hollow Road Churchville, PA Collins Zoo 2900 Hwy 49 Collins, MS Cricket Hollow Zoo, Inc th Street Manchester, IA Dade City's Wild Things Meridian Ave Dade City, FL Heaven's Corner Zoo & Animal Sanctuary 385 Quinn Rd West Alexandria, OH Hernando Primate Inc Chicanic Road Brooksville, FL Hesperia Zoo Willow St Hesperia, CA Natural Bridge Zoological Park 5784 S Lee Hwy Natural Bridge, VA Olympic Game Farm 1423 Ward Rd Sequim, WA Out of Africa Wildlife Park 4020 N Cherry Road Camp Verde, AZ Panther Ridge Conservation Center Palm Beach Point Boulevard Wellington, FL Phillips Park Zoo 1000 Ray Moses Dr Aurora, IL Safari Zoological Park 1751A CR 1425 Caney, KS Sierra Safari Zoo N. Virginia St. Reno, NV T.I.G.E.R.S. Preservation Station 6000 S.W. 118th Avenue Miami, FL Tanganyika Wildlife Park 1037 South 183rd Street West Goddard, KS Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge FM 14 Tyler, TX Tiger World 4405 Cook Road Rockwell, NC Wild Animal Safari 3246 E Seminole Springfield, MO Wildwood Wildlife Park Hwy 70 West Minocqua, WI Zooville USA 4702 Cooper Rd Plant City, FL Note to FCF members: If you would like to be included here, please contact the committee. 7

LEARNING ABOUT THE WILD CATS Jaguarundi Puma yagouaroundi Weight: 15-20 pounds Body Length: 26 in. Tail Length: 18 in.

8 LEARNING ABOUT THE WILD CATS Jaguarundi Puma yagouaroundi Weight: pounds Body Length: 26 in. Tail Length: 18 in. Habitat: lowland forests and scrub Range: Texas and South America Diet: Small mammals, birds, reptiles Behavior: diurnal and terrestrial Breeding: Unknown Gestation: days # of Babies: 1-4 Sexual Maturity: months Lifespan: years Status: ESA Endangered, IUCN Least Concern, CITES Central America: Appendix I and South America: Appendix II * With its long body, short legs, flattened tail, long flattened head, short nose, and small low-set round ears, jaguarundis are often mistaken for otters. * Other names for the cat are Jaguarondi, Leoncillo (little lion), Eyra Cat, Otter Cat, and Weasel Cat. * Jaguarundis live in a broad range of habitats: lowland brush areas, swamp lands, savannah and forest regions in South America, Central America, and the southern United States. * A Jaguarundi diet consists of fish, frogs, reptiles, birds, rodents and small mammals. * The cats are good climbers and swimmers. * Not much information is known about jaguarundis as they are elusive. They have the ability to hide within their habitats and slip away when humans approach. Many past attempts to track these cats have failed. * Their coats are brownish-gray to black or reddish-brown. * Unlike most cats, Jaguarundis are primarily diurnal (active during the day) rather than nocturnal (active during evenings or night). * Jaguarundis make a wide range of vocalizations, including purrs, whistles, yaps, chattering, and bird-like chirps. * Jaguarundis struggle with habitat loss, brush clearings, predators, and animal control programs. References: For more information about the Jaguarundi, visit the Youth Section of the FCF website. 8

CATS AND DOGS: A WIN-WIN PARTNERSHIP FOR CONSERVATION IN SOUTH AFRICA It is an age old story: humans and predators just do not mix well in areas where livestock is raised for both money and food.

Farmers then get angry and try to kill these predators that are preying on their lambs, goats and cattle. This is the same story conservationists are faced with all over the world.

9 CATS AND DOGS: A WIN-WIN PARTNERSHIP FOR CONSERVATION IN SOUTH AFRICA It is an age old story: humans and predators just do not mix well in areas where livestock is raised for both money and food. Farming in Africa carries the risk of livestock loss to large carnivores such as leopard, cheetah, African wild dogs, brown and spotted hyena and lions. Farmers then get angry and try to kill these predators that are preying on their lambs, goats and cattle. This is the same story conservationists are faced with all over the world. EFFORTS TO SAVE THE WILD CATS Various methods, such as capturing, snaring, shooting, poisoning and relocation of the carnivores, have all proven to offer only temporary relief to the preying on domestic livestock because new carnivores migrate into the territories. The Feline Conservation Federation has a conservation program called the Rare Species Fund that donates money to projects that will protect wild felines in nature. The RSF recently sent $5,000 to South Africa to the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT). The EWT is an organization that has been dealing with the conflict between carnivores and farmers for the past 30 years and has learned valuable lessons in preventing it. The EWT believes that prevention is best solution, and evolved the EWT s Livestock Guarding Dog Project (LGD) that provides livestock guarding dogs such as the indigenous Maluti and the Turkish Anatolian shepherd onto farms in order to prevent loss of stock. The farmers agree to a one-year partnership with EWT that ensures the farmers follow the advice and assistance of the EWT s LGD Project staff so that the livestock guarding dogs stay healthy and are given proper care. Puppies from these breeds are taken to the farm and placed into a sheep, goat or cattle herd from a young age where they interact and bond directly with the livestock. This bond allows the herd to accept the puppy as one of their own and for the puppy, in turn, to grow up as a member of the flock. As the puppies grow up they begin to fulfill their duty of protecting the herd against predator attacks by warning of predators in the area and herding the animals away from the threat. These dogs move and live with the livestock as they move around the farm. The dog is placed as a deterrent and guardian, not as an attack dog. Through pure size, protectiveness of its livestock, and intimidation, he is able to peacefully defend his herd from being the next meal. The Livestock Guarding Dog Project has been extremely successful. 110 dogs have been placed, and this has increased the acceptance farmers have toward carnivores, thus expanding the areas where these carnivores can safely roam. The FCF is proud to support this project that protects Africa s great cats and helps farmers succeed in their efforts to raise the livestock they need to survive. 9

10 FELINE FUN 1. Leopard Cat 2. Asiatic Golden Cat 3. Cheetah 4. Caracal 5. Rusty-spotted Cat 6. Cougar 7. Oncilla 8. Bobcat 9. European Lynx C. A. D. B. 10

11 E. H. F. I. G. 11

12 Glossary Ambassador a person who speaks out or takes action for a cause Carnivore an animal that eats meat Conserve/Conservation to save and protect an animal Conservationist a person that saves and protects animals Diet what an animal eats Diurnal active during the day Gestation how long babies grow inside their mom before they are born Habitat the type of place (forest, ocean, desert) where an animal lives Husbandry the breeding and raising of animals Indigenous naturally found in an area without the help of humans Nocturnal active during the evening or at night Predator an animal that lives by killing and eating other animals Prey an animal that is hunted or killed by another animal for food Range the countries or continents where an animal can found Territory the area where an animal lives Answers to Fun Page: 1. H 2. B 3. C 4. G 5. I 6. E 7. D 8. A 9. F 12

The Future Protectors of the World s Wild Cats. Happy New Year! FOR KIDS and YOUTH. Sections: Feline Conservation Federation News and Events...

FOR KIDS and YOUTH The Future Protectors of the World s Wild Cats Jan-Feb 2013 Volume 3, Issue 1 Sections: Feline Conservation Federation News and Events.... 2 FCF Member Zoos and Sanctuaries to Visit...