Visited Thursday (!3-03-14) and saw this fellow, who is an absolute charmer - I think he must have been hand-raised for he was very friendly, came up and looked at me the way cats do when they like you. They told me he was just out of quarantine and that he has a wife waiting for him - she is not yet on public show. Late in the spring wedding-bells will ring and they will have a new compound which is being prepared now. Apparently this species is not in any other British zoo. Not endangered in Canada but under threat in the northern USA part of its range; hunted for fur and has a boom-and-bust population cycle tied to its chief prey, the snowshoe hare.
As a non-driver for me it's an hour-and-a-half on the Cambridge-Peterborough bus to Sawtry then a four-mile walk each way - worth it. They have a Rusty-Spotted cat pair also, who should be on view later in the year.
Visited Thursday (!3-03-14) and saw this fellow, who is an absolute charmer - I think he must have been hand-raised for he was very friendly, came up and looked at me the way cats do when they like you. They told me he was just out of quarantine and that he has a wife waiting for him - she is not yet on public show.
In point of fact, the animal in this photograph *is* the female who has not yet come on public show! She arrived last summer but due to lack of onshow enclosures has been offshow since, but visible if one knows where to look.
As a non-driver for me it's an hour-and-a-half on the Cambridge-Peterborough bus to Sawtry then a four-mile walk each way - worth it. They have a Rusty-Spotted cat pair also, who should be on view later in the year.
Ahh, a kindred spirit to myself - as I am also a non-driver I have done the same myself, with the added complication of having to get a 2 hour train to Peterborough from County Durham first of course, it was slightly easier back when that bus stopped at Alconbury Weston, as although the walk was of similar distance it was down a single straight road.
You might find this thread I have written of use to you in your zoo-going endevours - a compilation of routes and methods for reaching various collections by public transport:
In point of fact, the animal in this photograph *is* the female who has not yet come on public show! She arrived last summer but due to lack of onshow enclosures has been offshow since, but visible if one knows where to look.
Ahh, a kindred spirit to myself - as I am also a non-driver I have done the same myself, with the added complication of having to get a 2 hour train to Peterborough from County Durham first of course, it was slightly easier back when that bus stopped at Alconbury Weston, as although the walk was of similar distance it was down a single straight road.
You might find this thread I have written of use to you in your zoo-going endevours - a compilation of routes and methods for reaching various collections by public transport:
Point 1: I thought the photo looked too grown-up - the new fellow is but a kitten at present with ruff as yet undeveloped, I hope her ladyship is pleased when she finally gets her toy-boy!
Point 2: Very many thanks, been looking for just such a thing!
Now can anybody tell me how to get to Thrigby Hall? They have an Asian Golden Cat, which looks to me like it might be close to the last common ancestor of all living cats and I gather the DNA people say it branches off their trees early.
Now can anybody tell me how to get to Thrigby Hall? They have an Asian Golden Cat, which looks to me like it might be close to the last common ancestor of all living cats and I gather the DNA people say it branches off their trees early.
Not somewhere I have been, despite the Asian Golden Cat being a particular favorite species of mine, due to the additional problems travelling down from the northeast entail.
That said, it should not be too tricky for you - get a train from Cambridge to Acle, changing at Norwich. From Acle railway station you either have to be willing to attempt a 6 mile walk - a bit excessive even for those of us who enjoy such things, methinks - or get a taxi there. The train journey, according to the national rail website, will cost £38 if you want to set off before 9am, and £17 afterward. As Thrigby is a smallish collection I imagine that setting off later would not be a problem.
Unfortunately the timings for the only available return bus from the Wildlife Park on days outside school holidays would only permit an hour or so at the collection - this is a bus route I have investigated in the past.
Many thanks two you both - just checked bus myself using your info, only one per day! I had looked before and was referred to several local paper articles complaining about the route being cut back, which struck me as ominous. Six-mile walk each way just about tolerable, do the same when I go to Banham!
Not somewhere I have been, despite the Asian Golden Cat being a particular favorite species of mine, due to the additional problems travelling down from the northeast entail.
That said, it should not be too tricky for you - get a train from Cambridge to Acle, changing at Norwich. From Acle railway station you either have to be willing to attempt a 6 mile walk - a bit excessive even for those of us who enjoy such things, methinks - or get a taxi there. The train journey, according to the national rail website, will cost £38 if you want to set off before 9am, and £17 afterward. As Thrigby is a smallish collection I imagine that setting off later would not be a problem.
