Wild Cat Conservation Centre News

nczoofan said:
I can’t help but ask the question, is it really that great to have clouded leopards back when its a single pair?
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Any regional breeding program is going to start with a single animal being imported or perhaps a pair. It's the lack of subsequent imports that is the problem.

However, I take your point and yes, there is a total lack of regional collection planning in this country or at least a lack of stick-to-the-regional-collection-planning.
 
Some devastating news. Kian the male Caracal kitten has unfortunately died due to lung complications. The female kitten Kora is still alive and well. The Australasian population of caracals now stands at 1.6. From their Facebook page:
It has been a very sad few days here at the centre with Kian passing away earlier in the week. It was completely unexpected, and we are all devastated and heartbroken by the loss of our energetic little man.
Sadly, his lungs stopped working, which is near impossible to treat in such a small kitten. We did all that we could for him in his final hours, and made him comfortable, but his little body could not cope and he passed with a lot of love surrounding him.
Kaia and Kora are doing ok, we are giving them lots of extra attention and support during this difficult time.
We are so sad to share this news with everyone, as we know all our visitors and followers fall in love with our cats here just as much as we do. We are so grateful for the 10 amazing weeks we got to spend with Kian, filled with lots of love, zoomies and positive energy. Even though we only had such a short time with him, we loved every minute of his confident, clumsy, energetic character that we got to spend with him. Rest In Peace little man
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Two (1.1) Aldabra Giant Tortoises have arrived at the Wild Cat Conservation Centre. This holding is already listed under the exotic reptiles of Australia thread but the centre mentions these individuals are new arrivals:

"Whilst we are focussed on our small wild cats here at the centre, we have recently welcomed some new additions. Two giant Aldabra tortoises have joined the family, and we are looking for some name suggestions for this pair! Comment below your favourite couples names for our new male and female tortoise! There’s nothing these two enjoy more than a good scratch on their shell and legs, which you can give them on guided tours of our centre! More information is on our website, and we can’t wait for you to meet our giant duo!"
 
Was the Wild Cat Conservation Centre founded from Bullens animals originally?

I know that it was previously called Wild Animal Encounters, and that some of the newer cats (caracals, clouded leopards, etc) were imported and/or bred into the collection.
 
Abbey said:
Was the Wild Cat Conservation Centre founded from Bullens animals originally?

I know that it was previously called Wild Animal Encounters, and that some of the newer cats (caracals, clouded leopards, etc) were imported and/or bred into the collection.
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I can find little information on the founding cats, but there was a discussion on here in 2014 about the owner hand raising three lions that came from a private zoo in Sydney. This was believed to be Bullens.
 
Plans to import more Clouded leopard:

Wild Cat Conservation Centre keeps roaring with government support

This article details plans to import more Clouded leopard for breeding:

The pandemic also affected the centre’s conservation work. It had to postpone plans to bring two new Clouded leopards from the US for its breeding program. ‘It’s an issue because the cats are getting older and this affects their breeding cycles,’ says Britton.

We’re hoping 2022 will be a fresh start for the centre,’ he says. ‘We’d love more visitors. We’d also like to get the new Clouded leopards to Australia so we can start breeding them.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Plans to import more Clouded leopard:

Wild Cat Conservation Centre keeps roaring with government support

This article details plans to import more Clouded leopard for breeding:

The pandemic also affected the centre’s conservation work. It had to postpone plans to bring two new Clouded leopards from the US for its breeding program. ‘It’s an issue because the cats are getting older and this affects their breeding cycles,’ says Britton.

We’re hoping 2022 will be a fresh start for the centre,’ he says. ‘We’d love more visitors. We’d also like to get the new Clouded leopards to Australia so we can start breeding them.
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I probably speak for many on this forum that this sounds rather exciting!

I know one facility does not a sustainable breeding program make, but it's good to see that WCCC are serious in their commitment to the species.
 
Abbey said:
I probably speak for many on this forum that this sounds rather exciting!

I know one facility does not a sustainable breeding program make, but it's good to see that WCCC are serious in their commitment to the species.
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It’s exciting indeed and demonstrates their commitment to this species goes beyond holding a couple of these cats purely for the distinction of being the only facility in the region to do so.

This cat is notoriously aggressive and successful breeding pairs are usually only formed by introducing them as infants or juveniles. With this in mind, I’m not sure if the sibling pair they hold will be of any value long term and indeed they only mention breeding from the incoming pair. Either way, this pair could theoretically produce several litters to supply other zoos in the region.
 
Huge news! A breeding pair of Clouded Leopards have been imported from the Pittsburgh Zoo and Tanganyika Wildlife Park in the United States:

"Some exciting news to end the week with! A big welcome to Mark and Moana, our new clouded leopards! Their arrival at the centre is a milestone and an important step as we are the only centre in Australia dedicated to conserving this species. Thanks go to Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium and Tanganyika Wildlife Park for their efforts in helping us establish the first ever conservation breeding program for Clouded Leopard in Australia."
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
Huge news! A breeding pair of Clouded Leopards have been imported from the Pittsburgh Zoo and Tanganyika Wildlife Park in the United States:

"Some exciting news to end the week with! A big welcome to Mark and Moana, our new clouded leopards! Their arrival at the centre is a milestone and an important step as we are the only centre in Australia dedicated to conserving this species. Thanks go to Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium and Tanganyika Wildlife Park for their efforts in helping us establish the first ever conservation breeding program for Clouded Leopard in Australia."
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Incredible news!
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
Huge news! A breeding pair of Clouded Leopards have been imported from the Pittsburgh Zoo and Tanganyika Wildlife Park in the United States:

"Some exciting news to end the week with! A big welcome to Mark and Moana, our new clouded leopards! Their arrival at the centre is a milestone and an important step as we are the only centre in Australia dedicated to conserving this species. Thanks go to Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium and Tanganyika Wildlife Park for their efforts in helping us establish the first ever conservation breeding program for Clouded Leopard in Australia."
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Awesome news!
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
Huge news! A breeding pair of Clouded Leopards have been imported from the Pittsburgh Zoo and Tanganyika Wildlife Park in the United States:

"Some exciting news to end the week with! A big welcome to Mark and Moana, our new clouded leopards! Their arrival at the centre is a milestone and an important step as we are the only centre in Australia dedicated to conserving this species. Thanks go to Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium and Tanganyika Wildlife Park for their efforts in helping us establish the first ever conservation breeding program for Clouded Leopard in Australia."
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Wow, huge news! that came out of left field. These smaller institutions keep putting the major zoos to shame. Hopefully, that can encourage some others like Darling Downs or Altina to join in on Clouded leopards too.
 
Swanson02 said:
Wow, huge news! that came out of left field. These smaller institutions keep putting the major zoos to shame. Hopefully, that can encourage some others like Darling Downs or Altina to join in on Clouded leopards too.
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The import had been on the cards for a while, but had been delayed due to Covid (see my post above). It’s great to finally have them here! The other pair are siblings, so this will be a chance to breed from an unrelated pair and in turn supply other zoos if the demand is there and successful breeding can be achieved.

I suspect Mogo will be interested too. People have mentioned the Snow leopard exhibit is a little small for a young Sri Lankan leopard (it’s fine for an elderly animal); so this could be refurbished for Clouded leopard and Sri Lankan leopard accommodated elsewhere (if also desired).
 
I was just wondering if the CCC has had any success with their cheetah to date I believe they have had them for some time and have quite a few there at present?
 
Zorro said:
I was just wondering if the CCC has had any success with their cheetah to date I believe they have had them for some time and have quite a few there at present?
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They’ve never bred this species. They currently have 2.3 Cheetah, which were all imported from South Africa:

0.1 Blanca (07/06/2014)
0.1 Zane (17/07/2017)
0.1 Ziva (17/07/2017)
1.0 Cooper (13/11/2017)
1.0 Duke (13/11/2017)

Assuming the females are given adequate privacy, I’d assume the males have little appeal to them. Females are notoriously selective and they only have two males (brothers) for them to choose from.

Though zoos have bred with similar numbers (or less), the zoos with repeated success e.g. Orana are usually been able to offer females a choice of four or five males. Some of these are related males they wouldn’t allow them to mate with with, but the illusion is there and it works.
 
New species for the centre. The Wild Cat Conservation Centre have announced the arrival of a male Fishing Cat. There are now three holders in Australasia with 1.1 at Taronga, 1.2 at Hamilton and 1.0 at the WCCC:

"A warm welcome to our Fishing Cat, Finn (Finnegan when he is in trouble - which is never, because look at that face)! With our centre’s focus on small, lesser known wildcats, it is very exciting to have a new species join us as we continue to work to save the world’s forgotten wild cats from extinction.Native to Southeast Asia, these medium sized cats are currently classed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List primarily due to habitat loss. As their name suggests, these guys fish for their food, using their webbed feet to scoop their prey up out of the water! This webbing means their toes in the pug marks are a bit more spread out and larger than what you would expect for their body size, which is usually between 8-14kg!"
 
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