Future of Wildcats - The Irony

[donnie]

Since 3 of the 7 species are already extinct and the South China Tiger on it's way out, the future looks bleak. The upside (if you can call this an up-side) is that the Bengal and indo-Chinese numbers are stable. The irony is the only thing that can save these creatures is the very thing that has driven them to and near extinction; man.

[WhiteTiger55]

I would hate to see these beautiful cats go extinct. But with people the way they are they will be extinct soon I think.



Dawn

[GrrreatCats]

I vote the human race place a moritorium on reproduction. We don't need unbridled growth. Too many people, too much traffic, too much 'progress' of a dubious sort. Make people attend parenting school and buy a license to reproduce before having a baby or take the child and give it to the childless. Thomas More had this idea back in the 16th Century when he wrote the novel "Utopia".

Don't blame me for adding to the problem. My kids are furry or feathered. The cats are altered and (thankfully) so am I. (Bye-bye, PMS).
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Alix K.

[donnie]

I like your concept GrrreatCats. Maybe it's the German in me (hehe).
BUT we seem to be a part of a grand design and I believe this is the path and it is inevitable. Do the math. There is only so much planet and people are living longer and longer. True, no one wants to die and we all want to get as much out of life as possible. We were told to be fruitful and multiply and having children is a predisposed genetic urge. After all we are equipped for it.

Was China on the right path by imposing the "One Child Law"? I think not. I think it was there way of creating a state of "Political Persecution" thus giving millions of Chinese the right to political asylum in America. Now that's population control..

There is no way out of this quagmire. It's just a ride we are all on and trying to make the best of it seems like the only option. Do what you can to make a difference, raise your children well hoping they will keep a rapidly diminishing value system alive and drink heavily on weekends. That's my plan..

[Stacey1976]

It breaks my heart, such beautiful creatures.

[nikki]

Just wanted to share this with everyone if you haven't been there in awhile I myself just found it a few days ago I was thinking of midnight and just had to post this link to the smithsonian national zoological park.

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/AfricanSavanna/default.cfm?cam=C1

Four Cheetah Cubs and Mother Now on Exhibit
two of the Zoo's cheetah cubs in the snowTumai, the Zoo's four-year-old cheetah, gave birth to a litter of two male and two female cubs on November 23. This is the first litter of cheetah cubs ever born at the National Zoo in its 115-year history. Animal-care staff say the cubs are quite playful and in excellent health. Veterinarians are examining the cubs every two weeks and weighed them at about nine to nine and a half pounds each on February 1.

Each cub has had a small patch shaved in a different place (on the right shoulder or left leg, for example) so staff can tell them apart. They have started eating meat but are still nursing.
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Nikki

[tigerdave]

Thanks for that link !!! God they are so cute !!!

[Denise]

You can also watch the National Zoo cheetahs live on either of their two livie streaming webcams!

[tigerdave]

I have watch those cams and Cheetchs are awesome ! J and I filmed with the King Cheetch and a female Cheetch for the Power Cats Locked and Loaded educational DVD that we made and it was so cool to see them up close and be able to touch and hang out with them ! There are only 5 King Cheetchs in the US and a handful in the wild

[LEMUR-J]

Cheetahs are definitly one of the most amazing large felines. David and I are relly lucky to have interacted with them at other facilities including the King Cheetah featured in our DVD "Powercats". One of my favorite things about the Cheetah are its Non-retractible claws and round puplis (totaly unique in the cat world).

J

[Denise]

Midnight looks absolutely adorable, but those claws look like deadly weapons! Is the furniture still intact?

The Cheetah cubs have endless energy; run, run, run...until watching them I had forgotten how active the little ones can be! I'm kinda glad my kitties are on the older side

I think it's wonderful that the Internet gives us the means to view the daily lives of all these animals in our homes. Years ago I was thrilled to be at the National Zoo in Washington DC to visit the Pandas. Now I can watch and listen to them live any time day or night. I've also enjoyed having the opportunity to watch little Mei Shung in San Diego grow from a little peanut to the big buterball he is today. We need to thank all those that make this possible for us.

[tigerdave]

And we can't forget about our time at "White Oaks" and all of their Cheetchs in those 5 acre habitats or the time we played ball with the female Cheetch that Barbara used for her educational lecture on endanger animals when she was in town !!! I will never forget how FAST she was to catch that ball !!!!

They sure are AWESOME animals and to think there is only 8,000 or so left in the wild

[LEMUR-J]

And do not forget the fact that most Wild & Captive Cheetahs are almost identicle geneticly which makes thier futur even more unstable. White Oaks was amazing for sure. The cam technology today rocks but NO ONE has cams like us

J

[gb3llma]

Hear! Hear! That's a FACT, JACK ( ) The sheer number of cams--that get you up CLOSE and personal--the spacious, NATURAL habitats, the awesome exotic animals (who we have come to know and love!) all conspire to make TigerHomes.org the absolute best animal website on the planet. Hands down.

It must have been so incredible to play ball with a Cheetah. Amazing and awesome. Ditto for the Cheetah itself. The genetic factor is scary, for sure, it is no doubt critical to have a well-thought-out breeding program in place for them. Even that may not be enough. The non-retractable claws, the round pupils........very cool indeed.

Midnight. Oh gosh! Thanks so much for a photo update. Every time I look at her......omg what a SWEETIE! I'm with you BarbaraJ....those CLAWS Deadly weapons for sure. Do they 'grow into them' as they get bigger--sort of like a puppy with huge paws?--or do they stay that large looking?? Betcha somebody knows....

(Oops! Guess I was up too late to think clearly......must have been thinking of BarbaraJ for some reason.........anyway, I MEANT Denise in that last paragraph )
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"When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world." ~John Muir~

[Denise]

TigerHomes is definitely the best