Actually, the Leopards were hiding...

Yesterday was the day of the Leopards Etc. Open House. The Open House is a fund-raising event where a small number (in this case, 64 max.) of guests pay to visit the Leopards Etc compound, eat lunch, and see the cats in their home environment. It's tax dedutable, for a very worth cause, and a wonderful way to spend a day! (Write-ups of Leopards Etc. educational programs we've attended: here, here, and here.)

The minivan drove us up into the hills to the compound. It's a pretty drive. We arrived, got our name tags (great idea) and some water, used the restroom, and then wandered off to look at the cats.

This was an adult-only event and, while there were volunteers watching carefully and available for questions, there was no "guided tour". We just walked around and admired the Big Kitties. (And, being kitties, they appreciated being admired.)

Most of them the cats out, although we were told that the clouded leopard was in her crate in the garage (she doesn't like strangers) and the other leopards were hiding in their boxes in their enclosures.

Purrrr, Hath!, Grwwwwwwwwwll, rubrubrub

I saw Kamau, the male cheetah, under the tree in the "cheetah play yard" and walked down to say hello (quietly). He stalked me a bit. I heard Barbara up at the nametag table say "Oh, someone must be down on the road. Kamau is stalking".

We reached an agreement. He lay down in the shade again, flopped on his side and purred madly while he kept an eye on me and I talked very softly.

After a bit I went to see other cats. Many of them were awake but hot. Kgosi, the king cheetah, was lying in his enclosure, also purring and looking fairly calm. Apparently cheetahs like to show their tummies and have people admire them.

I walked over where the Caracal, Mara, was. She was in her box, but came out. She likes to talk (hath). She's lovely. Such ears!

The ocelot is next door to the Caracal and was trotting back and forth growling at everyone. Such a BIG growl for such a little cat. Such lovely fur. Such ripples. Wow!

The serval has a wading pool in his enclosure. The volunteers were tossing bits of meat into the pool and the serval traps them under water and kills" them. Apparently sometimes he gets real "feeder fish".

I walked down to meet the lynxes. Another guest was sitting on the gravel by Oksana's cage (a female Siberian lynx) and Oksana had taken a real liking to her. The woman was talking softly and moving her head in a rubbing motion. Oksana was rubbing her head on the wire of the enclosure. Then she lay down and stuck her huge paws out through the gap under the lower board. Such biiiig paws. We knew we couldn't touch but ooooh how tempting. One of Oksana's toes is the size of Squirrels entire paw (and Squirrel has big paws).

About then, we were called for lunch. Lunch was delicious - yummy sesame noodles (with mushrooms, but those were easy to avoid). Grilled chicken (great with the noodles). Fresh cabbage slaw. Fresh fruit. Whole wheat crescent rolls. Incredible chocolate cake. Plenty of food. Lots of water. Shade from the sun. Conversation with the other guests at the table. All very nice.

The Amazing Speed of the Cheetah

After lunch, guests and volunteers went into the cheetah play yard from which we could watch an exhibition of cheetahs running, aka "The Amazing Speed of the Cheetah"). The humans were inside the fence, the cheetahs (and their handlers) were outside. The cheetahs appeared to think this was quite reasonable.

We've been told about how the Cheetahs get their exercise when we've been to the educational programs. I was really looking forward to seeing what I'd only heard about!

This was a short exhibition run, up the gravel drive and around the corner past the large play pen enclosure. (For "real" exercise, the Cheetahs commute to a private farm several miles away, where there's more space and grass to run on.)

They started with the slower of the cheetahs and moved up to the youngest and fastest.

Kgosi did a nice lope. It was really too hot for a run and he was having a good time. He just trotted up the drive to Rob and said "I'm here. Chicken?"

Kamau did a nice run, not blindingly fast but faster than I would do! He veered off toward the pan of chicken at the end of the track. He knows how this game is played.

Kibibi is the female. She turned on the speed. She ran so fast she almost spun out in the turn. And when the ball went into the rubber traffic cone she attacked and killed that traffic cone! Then she ate her chicken (which was her just reward) but only after she was quite sure she had dispatched the traffic cone.

All three were marvelously fun to watch and now I've seen what Rob is always talking about at the shows at De Anza!

More Cats, Large and "Small"

After the cheetahs ran, we walked around again and talked to the cats some more, seeing some different cats this time.

The cougar was hot. At one point she got down from her perch and then I saw her hop back up. One graceful, light hop. 8 feet. Wow. Muscles.

The snow leopard was sleeping, paws twitching. His feet are twice the size of the lynx's paws!

I walked down to meet the older lynxes. The two Siberian lynxes were asleep in the upper platforms of their enclosure. The two Canada lynxes were flopped out but watchful. One of those said "If you come closer, I will growl at you, but I won't sit up to do it and I will only move my head a little because it's really too hot".

Then I walked over and introduced myself to the younger Canada lynxes. One decided he was going to growl and even lunge a little (I had hunkered down to see his neighbor and stood up too fast and surprised him). So I sat down carefully and we had a nice talk and he lay down and put his head on his paws. I sat there until it was time to go. Then, of course, I had to stand up. He didn't much like that. Growwwwwwwwl! Lunge. Bounce-off-wire. Oh. Well.

One of the volunteers came over and told him he was funny and her cats at home have Cattitude too. He looked... surprised. "But I'm rough and tough!" Poor dear. He is. But he's also a fairly small kitty. (Then again, he'd be a lot more dangerous if there wasn't a bunch of 2" wire fence between us. He has a lot of nice sharp teeth. )

Finally, it was time to go. Rich and I said our Thank yous (what a wonderful day) and climbed into the last minivan heading down the hill. We'll do this again next year!

You Can Help!

Would you like to contribute to the Wild Cat Education and Conservation Fund? Tax-deductible donations are always gladly accepted. Right now, the Dicelys are especially looking for donations to the perimeter fence project! The government has decided to require a taller perimeter fence than is already surrounding the property. This will be a 1300 foot fence at a materials cost of $10/running foot. Installation labor will be be provided by volunteers. Contact Rob and Barbara to make a donation.

Rob Dicely with Kamau (photo from Leopards Etc web site.)

Even after the fence is built, your help is always needed. If you're in the San Francisco Bay Area, consider attending one of the local educational programs. Watch the web site and join the mailing list to be notified of upcoming programs. You can also donate to one of the many global conservation organizations. These incredible wild cats need your help to protect their habitats and their lives.

Actually, the Leopards were hiding... - posted at Sun, 17 Jul, 09:07 Pacific | «e»