FOR KIDS and YOUTH Nov/Dec 20ll Volume 1, Issue 5 The Future Protectors of the World s Wild Cats Sections: Feline Conservation Federation News and Events.... 2 FCF Member Zoos and Sanctuaries to Visit... 3 Learning about the Cats... 4 Efforts to Save the Wild Cats... 6 Holiday Cats...8 Feline Fun... 15 Welcome to the Holiday Issue of the Newsletter! The cats at FCF member facilities and homes across the country are all ready for the holidays. They are busy meeting Santa and telling him what they want for Christmas, gfa helping with the decorations, waiting for Santa to come, and getting ready for the snow. They are as excited about the holidays as you are. Check out the photos of these cats getting ready for the holidays and winter in our Holiday Cats section. Also featured in this issue is the tiger, a cat that loves winter and snow. Did you know tigers come in a variety of different colors? Learn about the threats facing tigers, why captive conservation is important and the role captive tigers play in preserving tigers in the wild. When you are done reading the newsletter, try the crossword puzzle on the feline fun page. Wild Cat Fan Page.. 16 Feline Conservation Federation P.O. Box 31210 Myrtle Beach, SC 29588 www.felineconservation.org The Feline Conservation Federation is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the conservation of wild felines through preservation, education and research. Here is another cat that loves the snow Deanna Croasmun 1
FELINE CONSERVATION FEDERATION NEWS AND EVENTS Produced by the Youth Education Committee Chair: Debi Willoughby Caroline Alexander Lauren Bean Rob Carmichael Toni Carmichael 2012 FCF Convention The 2012 FCF Convention is currently scheduled for June 7-9, 2012 at the Cincinnati Zoo in Cincinnati, OH with the Husbandry and Educator s Courses to be held on June 6. Upcoming Husbandry Course There will be a Husbandry Course April 28, 2012 at A1 Savannahs in Ponca City, OK. Course Reviews I attended the Wildlife Conservation Educator s Course held at the Cincinnati Zoo on Saturday, November 5. I would absolutely recommend this course to anyone who exhibits any type of animal, not just felines. Even experienced animal owners and educators can learn new ideas and brush-up on the essential parts of the business. The speaker was entertaining and knowledgeable, and the interaction of the class was very helpful. It was nice to be around people sharing the same passion and understanding for what we do. The day before the class, we visited the Cincinnati Zoo s new cougar exhibit and our instructor gave an informative talk to show us an example of conservation education. And the next day, we took a break from our bookwork to walk down to the cheetah exercise area and watch the animal handlers run the cheetahs and show and tell about them and the servals and other small cats. Tricyn Huntsman Deeanna Croasmun Dawn English Amy Flory Ann Kelly Tamara Latorre Pam Sellner Dave Sol Ashton Spears Sandi Spears Chantelle Webb Cheetah educational demonstration Camel that stuck its head in the bus I attended the FCF Feline Husbandry Course offered Saturday, October 29, in Springfield, Missouri at Wild Animal Safari. I do not currently have any wild or exotic felines, but was invited by a friend who does. The FCF is very involved in the safe handling and preservation of these animals. Knowing a facility is a member of the FCF gives me confidence that not only are they following all regulations, but also, that they have risen above even the federal laws to keep all parties safe. After the day of class, we were invited back to Wild Animal Safari to tour the facility. It was a great day, and the animals were amazing. We got to walk through the park with the lead keeper and hear about the animals there. Once they were able to take me away from the tiger enclosure, we took a bus tour of the property where all the hoof stock and a few other big predators are kept. Both tours are available to the public, and the facilities workers are open and friendly. The weekend was great, and I learned a lot and got to kiss a camel. Tamara Tiffany 2
FCF MEMBER ZOOS AND SANCTUARIES TO VISIT Alligator Adventure 1891 Colony Drive Surfside Beach, SC 29575 Animal Junction 146 Frog Hollow Road Churchville, PA 18966 http://www.animaljunction.com/ Collins Zoo 2900 Hwy 49 Collins, MS 39428 www.collinsmszoo.com Cricket Hollow Zoo, Inc. 1512 210th Street Manchester, IA 52057-8951 www.crickethollowzoo.com Dade City's Wild Things 37245 Meridian Ave Dade City, FL 33525 www.dadecityswildthings.com Heaven's Corner Zoo & Animal Sanctuary 385 Quinn Rd West Alexandria, OH 45381 www.heavenscorner.net Hernando Primate Inc 14495 Chicanic Road Brooksville, FL 34614 www.hernandoprimate.com Hesperia Zoo 19038 Willow St Hesperia, CA 92345 http://www.thehesperiazoo.com/ Natural Bridge Zoological Park 5784 S Lee Hwy Natural Bridge, VA 24578 http://naturalbridgezoo.com/ Olympic Game Farm 1423 Ward Rd Sequim, WA 98382 www.olygamefarm.com Out of Africa Wildlife Park 4020 N Cherry Road Camp Verde, AZ 86322 http://www.outofafricapark.com/ Phillips Park Zoo 1000 Ray Moses Dr Aurora, IL 60505 http://www.phillipsparkaurora.com/ Safari Zoological Park 1751A CR 1425 Caney, KS 67333 http://safaripark.org/ Sierra Safari Zoo 10200 N. Virginia St. Reno, NV 89506 http://sierrasafarizoo.org/ T.I.G.E.R.S. Preservation Station 6000 S.W. 118th Avenue Miami, FL 33183-1728 www.tigerfriends.com Tanganyika Wildlife Park 1037 South 183rd Street West Goddard, KS 67052 www.twpark.com Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge 17552 FM 14 Tyler, TX 75706 www.tigercreek.org Tiger World 4405 Cook Road Rockwell, NC 28138 www.tigerworld.us Wild Animal Safari 3246 E Seminole Springfield, MO 65804 http://www.goanimalparadise.com/ Wildwood Wildlife Park 10094 Hwy 70 West Minocqua, WI 54548 http://www.wildwoodwildlifepark.com Zooville USA 4702 Cooper Rd Plant City, FL 33565 www.zoovilleusa.com Note to FCF members: If you would like to be included here, please contact the committee. 3
LEARNING ABOUT THE WILD CATS Weight: 220-680 lbs Tiger Panthera tigris Body Length: 7 6 10 9 Tail Length: 3-4 ft. Habitat: rainforests, swamps, various forests Range: India, Manchuria, China, Indonesia, Russia Diet: pigs, deer, antelope, buffalo, large animals Behavior: solitary Breeding: winter # of Babies: 2-4 Gestation: 103 days Sexual Maturity: 3 yrs (females), 4 yrs (males) Lifespan: 15 yrs wild; 20+ yrs. captivity Jacob at Conservator s Center Photo by Mindy Stinner Status: Endangered; CITES Appendix I * There are eight subspecies or groups of tigers: Amur, Balinese, Bengal, Caspian, Javan, Malayan, South China, and Sumatran. Of these, the Javan, Balinese, and Caspian tigers are extinct. The other five subspecies are critically endangered. * Besides the 8 tiger subspecies, there are also mixed tigers. They are also referred to as generic. These tigers are the result of breeding tigers from two different subspecies together. This term is also used for tigers with unknown lineage. * The Amur tiger is the largest tiger subspecies and the largest cat in the world. The Sumatran tiger is the smallest subspecies of tiger. * The tiger is one of the most recognized animals in the world due to their highly distinguishable stripes. They are also one of the most loved animals in the world. * A tiger s stripes can be used to tell one tiger from another just like human fingerprints due for humans because the pattern is different for each tiger. * Unlike many cat species, the tiger loves water and are great swimmers 4
LEARNING ABOUT THE WILD CATS (cont) * Most threats to tigers are from humans. They include poaching for their fur and to use their body parts in medicines, habitat loss, loss of prey due to hunting and poisoning by humans, being killed on roads, and being killed for sport. * Tigers used to live throughout much of Asia. Today, they live in small populations that are separated from other populations by roads and loss of forest. * Tigers are important predators in nature because they keep the forest healthy by preying on the old, sick, injured and weak animals, ensuring that only the strongest and smartest animals pass on their genes. * A tiger s tail helps the tiger balance while walking on uneven surfaces and chasing down its prey. It will turn its tail the opposite way it is turning so it can keep its balance. * Their coats vary depending on where they live. Tigers that live in colder have longer and thicker fur to keep it warm, while tigers in warmer areas have shorter and thinner fur. * Even though tigers are solitary (prefer to live alone), they will sometimes gather together to share a large kill. * Tigers come in several different colors: snow white (or white without stripes), white, orange, golden tabby and various colors in between. Orange, white and golden tabby tigers playing in the snow at T.I.G.E.R.S. Photo by Robert Johnson For more information about tigers, 5 visit the FCF website.
EFFORTS TO SAVE THE WILD CATS By Lynn Culver Tigers in nature are having a really hard time. People all over the world love tigers and it would be terrible if we ever lost all the tigers on the planet. Tigers are top predators in nature, but there is one predator that is more powerful than tigers. That is us. Some people are hunting and killing tigers, even though tigers are a protected species and it is illegal to kill them. Some cultures believe that the strength and power of a tiger can be transferred to humans if they use the tiger s body parts in medicines and foods. People are also taking the tiger s home away from them. People move into places that used to be Thai and Sammy at Tiger Creek Photo by Terri Werner forest and cut down the trees and build homes, and this disturbs the ecosystem and forces the tigers to find a new home. The problem is, there is not anywhere for the tigers to go when this happens, so they usually end up coming into villages and being shot by people. For many decades, governments, scientists and wildlife organizations have been working hard to try to prevent tigers from being killed and to protect their habitat. But even with all the money that has been donated to save tigers, the future does not look very bright. We hope that tigers will always be roaming in India, Russia, China, Vietnam, and Sumatra, but just in case, tigers are also living in zoos and private preserves all over the world. Protecting tigers in more controlled environments, like zoos, is known as captive conservation. People who love tigers are saving them this way. Tigers at Out of Africa park Photo by Prayeri Harrison In the United States, about 3,000 tigers are safe from poachers. There are four different kinds of tigers living in the United States: Amur tigers are the biggest tigers in the world. They used to be called Siberian tigers because they come from the cold north of Russia. About 150 of this variety of tigers are in the United States. 6
Sumatran tigers come from the island of Sumatra (in Indonesia). These tigers are much smaller, and there are about 60 Sumatran tigers in the United States. Malayan tigers used to be called Indo-Chinese tigers. About 50 of these tigers live in the United States. Generic tigers (mixes of tiger breeds) As you can tell, there are very few of the first three kinds of tigers in the US. Small populations like these are not as secure as larger populations because they do not have very much diversity. Diversity is important because it means healthier animals since they are better able to resist and fight diseases. Bigger populations are more secure because there are more chances for resistance to new diseases. The biggest population of tigers in America, and therefore the healthiest, is the generic tiger. These tigers are a mixture of every kind of tiger. In addition to the Amur, Malayan, and Sumatran tiger, many of these tigers are descended from Bengal tigers from India. The Bengal tigers carry the gene for unusual colors. Some Bengal tigers are called white tigers because they have white fur with black stripes. Some Bengal tigers are all white and do not have any stripes. They are called snow tigers. And some Bengal tigers are reddish and have dark red stripes. They are called tabby or cinnamon tigers. Wild tigers Photo by Li Quan Generic tigers live at many zoos. They also live in private preserves and sanctuaries. They are also used in magic shows. Magicians Siegfried and Roy had many white tigers in their shows and still have some you can visit at their Secret Garden in Las Vegas. White tigers are trained to perform in circuses, too. They show off their jumping abilities and their ability to balance and walk on their hind legs. Mixed tigers are important because they remind us to love and care for all tigers. These tigers are ambassadors for their cousins in nature. If we do not take care of the tigers born in America, then someday we might not be able to see tigers at zoos or get an opportunity to pet a baby tiger at a nature center. If we do not have tigers in America, we might forget about tigers altogether, and then we might stop fighting to protect them in nature. Hopefully someday people will stop killing tigers and taking their habitat, but until that day comes, it is important to practice captive conservation of tigers by breeding and raising many tigers and taking good care of them and letting people see them and fall in love with them. White tiger lounging in the grass 7
Kisses for Santa. Crackers shows Santa he has been good all year. Crackers (caracal) - Teresa Shaffer Jingle bells. Denali dreams of being a reindeer. Danali (ocelot) Jill Galindo 8
Leo waits for Santa under the tree. Sawabu asks for lots of mice for Christmas. Leo (serval) Evelyn Shaw Sawabu (serval) Dolly Guck Only one more ornament to put on the tree I m exhausted! Apollo (serval) Michelle Mills 9
Eww! I don t like this cold hard stuff! Lioness at Conservator s Center, Inc. Mindy Stinner Solo stares intently at Santa s reindeer. Solo (cougar) Robert Beebe 10
Last time that puppy tries to take my stocking! Serval kitten Teresa Shaffer Aben the snow-cat Aben (Canada lynx) Lynn Culver 11
Out looking for the perfect tree Little Buzz (bobcat) Lynn Culver Here comes Santa Claus. Please unleash me! Spirit (Geoffroy s cat) Debi Willoughby 12
Here Come Serval Paws By Amy Flory Here come serval paws! Here come serval paws! Right toward the Christmas tree! The servals and all their buddies Pull down lights with glee. Bulbs are smashing, bells are crashing; It's not a very good sight. Clean up the mess, rehang the lights, 'Cause serval paws came tonight. Here come serval paws! Here come serval paws! Right toward the Christmas tree! And with orn'ments strewn across the floor, The cats have fun again. Hear the sound of ripping presents. Not a beautiful sight. Lose the tree, and you will be happy, Serval paws won't come tonight. Serval paws won't come tonight. *Based on "Here Comes Santa Claus" (c) 1947 Gene Autry, Oakley Haldeman Liberty decorates the Christmas wreath. Time to get started on those holiday cards Apollo says Which one is my present? Hopefully the big one. Liberty (white lion) - Dawn Cloutier-Jones 13 Apollo (serval) Michelle Mills
Dashing through the snow... This white tiger blends in with the snow. (white tiger) T.I.G.E.R.S. Preservation Station Robert Johnson There s just so much to do for the holidays: sleep, eat, sleep, wrap presents, sleep. (tiger) Deanna Croasmun 14
FELINE FUN Across: 3. Who Sawabu the serval is getting a photo with 6. What Solo the cougar is staring at 7. The type of cat Aben is 8. What Apollo the serval wants to unwrap 11. The cold solid stuff on the tree with the lioness 14. What you try to catch on your tongue while it is snowing 16. What Crackers wants for Christmas Down: 1. Another word for mixed tigers 2. The holiday candy found on page 10 4. One of 3 pure tiger subspecies in the US 5. The cat featured in this newsletter 8. The places tigers live in 9. What the baby serval has in its mouth 10. What Leo the serval is hiding under 12. What Apollo the serval is trying to get 13. What the baby lion is in 15. The season that starts in December 15
WILD CAT FAN PAGE Art and writings sent in from the youth. Do you have a drawing, poem, or story about a wild cat? Send it in today and you might see it here!! Email to Youth@FelineConservation.org OR Fax to 508-278-4316 16