smaller big cats

teamzizzoou

teamzizzoou

Member
Is there anywhere i can take my daughter to see caracals,bobcat or clouded leopard in the uk.ive seen most of the other big cats.thanks
 
According to ISIS (which doesn't include all collections) you'll find these species at the following:

Clouded Leopard
Howletts Wild Animal Park
Port Lympne Wild Animal Park
Cotswold Wildlife Park
Wildlife Heritage Foundation
Linton Zoo
Rare Species Conservation Centre
Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens

Caracal
Port Lympne Wild Animal Park
Flamingo Land

Unfortunately, it appears there might be no bobcats in the United Kingdom.
 
If you're wanting small cats (as was discussed th other day, they're not technically big cats), then Kent is the place to go - the aspinall parks have brilliant collections (certainly carcals and cloudies) and the RSCC has quite a few species as well.
 
The pair at Linton Zoo are only there short term. They will go to a collection in Denmark when the arrangements can be made and paperwork completed.
 
Forgot to add earlier that WHF (Wildlife Heritidge Foundation) isn't normally open to the public.
 
I am a cat fanatic too, and enjoyed my day at Port Lympne last Fall when I visited England. Rusty spotted cat, indian wildcat, scottish wildcat, ocelot, fishing cat, pallas cat, margay, and more. Hard to go wrong there.

If you are really serious about cats, then you MUST (and I do mean MUST) plan on taking the Eurostar some day through the chunnel to France and visit Le Parc Des Felins. BY FAR, UNQUESTIONABLY, WITHOUT A DOUBT the best cat collection ever assembled in one place. And 100% great, spacious enclosures too.
 
teamzizzoou said:
Is there anywhere i can take my daughter to see caracals,bobcat or clouded leopard in the uk.ive seen most of the other big cats.thanks
Click to expand...
zootierliste.de:

Caracal:
Kirkcudbright (Galloway Wildlife Conservation Park)

Cloded Leopard:
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Ashford (Wildlife Heritage Foundation)
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Bekesbourne (Howletts Wild Animal Park)
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Broxbourne (Paradise Wildlife Park)
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Burford (Cotswold Wildlife Park)
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Filby (Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens)
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Linton (Zoo)
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Lympne (Port Lympne Wild Animal Park)
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Sandwich (Rare Species Conservation Centre)

Bobcat:
no luck, but some other species of lynx can be found in UK, look here: ZootierlisteHomepage (just type "lynx" in)

Edit: Oh, and check whether there is a "hinter den kulisen" note (meaning off show) or not in a particular zoo.
 
Ironic that bobcats cannot be found there, since they are overabundant here in the U.S. (both in zoos and in the wild). The customers at my photo lab here in Tucson frequently bring in photos of bobcats in their yard, if they live anywhere near a wash or on the edges of the city. I even saw one very close a few months ago when I was biking home from work.

Biologists estimate there are actually MORE bobcats now than there were when Europeans first settled the Americas, because they can adapt to suburban environments and thrive where other predators have been eliminated.

Also very common in zoos here, almost all of them being unwanted orphans. If any zoo in the UK really wanted some, I imagine it would be quite easy to get them. Probably they do not want them because they are not threatened, so the space could be better utilized for a rarer carnivore.
 
I think it has recently been mentioned that there are still some bobcat in the UK - at the Cat Survival Trust . Unfortunately this collection is not open to the public .
 
That reminds me of a story about how my favourite NBA team - Charlotte Bobcats - had to pay to get the desired bobcats.com url because it was already registered by some bobcats breeder and they had to buy it from her. :)
 
teamzizzoou said:
a really quick and helpful responce.looks like im off to kent.cheers
Click to expand...

As you'll know, these species aren't always easy to see. But last time I went to Port Lympne, I was near the Small Cats at around 4 pm and virtually all the species- including Caracals, were active then. I have never seen them so visible at other times of day.
 
They can be tricky to see.the jaguarundi at my local wildlife park are impossible to see! ive been the last 10 weeks at different times and not a whisker.lol
 
teamzizzoou said:
They can be tricky to see.the jaguarundi at my local wildlife park are impossible to see! ive been the last 10 weeks at different times and not a whisker.lol
Click to expand...

I must have been lucky then as I saw them on my only visit to Cotswold last year- but not the previous year. The first time I had seen this species and they have both colour phases too.
 
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