The marbled golden cat is mainly distributed in southwestern China. Among all zoos worldwide, only those in Sichuan, China, have kept individuals of this type in recent years. After the individual at Zigong Zoo passed away in 2020, the golden cat at Shehong Zoo became the only marbled golden cat in captivity globally.
I once traveled to Shehong to see this golden cat in early 2019. Shehong Zoo is extremely small and underfunded, so the living conditions for the golden cat were very poor—a fact clearly visible in the photos taken at that time.
Fortunately, over time, this unique golden cat has garnered increasing attention from enthusiasts. To improve its living environment, some people donated toys and nesting boxes for it. An even more significant change occurred this year: a coffee company from eastern China, named "Golden cat Coffee" (the name is merely a coincidence and has no connection to the Asian golden cat, but it did prompt the company to pay attention to this golden cat), visited the small zoo and took the improvement of the captive golden cat's living environment as a public welfare initiative.
After on-site inspections and collecting opinions from enthusiasts, the coffee company funded the construction of a new enclosure for the golden cat at Shehong Zoo. Recently, the new enclosure has been basically completed, and the golden cat has moved into its new home. While it is not perfect, the environment is obviously a great improvement compared to the golden cat's previous living conditions.
Regrettably, as an underdeveloped small zoo, the living conditions of other animals at Shehong Zoo remain unsatisfactory. It is hoped that in the future, the coffee company and caring individuals will continue to help the zoo's other animals, such as leopard cats, Chinese ferret-badgers, and masked palm civets.
The marbled golden cat in its new home
After the successive deaths of the golden cats at Zigong Zoo and Chongqing Zoo, besides Shehong, only Zanhuayuan Zoo in China keeps another Asian golden cat. This species may be destined to disappear from Chinese zoos. However, with the increase in public attention, the living environments of the golden cats at Shehong Zoo and Zanhuayuan Zoo have both been significantly improved—which still brings us comfort. We hope they can live longer in their new homes.
Special thanks to my online friend, Yu Liu (与柳), who rushed to Shehong and took these photos as soon as possible.
I once traveled to Shehong to see this golden cat in early 2019. Shehong Zoo is extremely small and underfunded, so the living conditions for the golden cat were very poor—a fact clearly visible in the photos taken at that time.
Fortunately, over time, this unique golden cat has garnered increasing attention from enthusiasts. To improve its living environment, some people donated toys and nesting boxes for it. An even more significant change occurred this year: a coffee company from eastern China, named "Golden cat Coffee" (the name is merely a coincidence and has no connection to the Asian golden cat, but it did prompt the company to pay attention to this golden cat), visited the small zoo and took the improvement of the captive golden cat's living environment as a public welfare initiative.
After on-site inspections and collecting opinions from enthusiasts, the coffee company funded the construction of a new enclosure for the golden cat at Shehong Zoo. Recently, the new enclosure has been basically completed, and the golden cat has moved into its new home. While it is not perfect, the environment is obviously a great improvement compared to the golden cat's previous living conditions.
Regrettably, as an underdeveloped small zoo, the living conditions of other animals at Shehong Zoo remain unsatisfactory. It is hoped that in the future, the coffee company and caring individuals will continue to help the zoo's other animals, such as leopard cats, Chinese ferret-badgers, and masked palm civets.
The marbled golden cat in its new home
After the successive deaths of the golden cats at Zigong Zoo and Chongqing Zoo, besides Shehong, only Zanhuayuan Zoo in China keeps another Asian golden cat. This species may be destined to disappear from Chinese zoos. However, with the increase in public attention, the living environments of the golden cats at Shehong Zoo and Zanhuayuan Zoo have both been significantly improved—which still brings us comfort. We hope they can live longer in their new homes.
Special thanks to my online friend, Yu Liu (与柳), who rushed to Shehong and took these photos as soon as possible.