ZooChat Challenge UK 2013

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Snowy Owl said:
The black footed cat I think we just gor lucky seeing them both although we were told our best chance was around 5 when they get fed. But we walked past the enclosure around 4 on our way back to base camp to see the big cats and there was one sat in the window of the left hand side enclosure poking there head out into the enclosure. Shortly after that we caught a glimpse of something in the other enclosure which we then running around on the ground.
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Liable to miss them then, if they are fed at 5 - we booked trains that would permit us to stay at the zoo until 6pm, but since then engineering works near Welwyn have been announced which mean we now have to leave an hour and a half earlier in order not to miss our connection back up to the northeast :(

We basically intend to camp in front of the small cats more or less all day after seeing the other major ticks, so we may still strike lucky.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Very nice indeed, you have been a real dark horse coming from behind!

Any pointers on seeing the black-footed cats and rusty spotted cats? Frankly at this stage I do not care I am doubtful to win, I just want the best chance at these two elusive ticks as possible ;)
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I wouldn't say a dark horse, snowy owl has been steadily catching up and has had the good fortune to see every species at every collection visited, unlike most of us! I had to leave Port Lympne at 230, so at least i know why the black footed were so elusive.
I think the black footed clinches it so congratulations snowy owl, you'll have no problem seeing the golden cat & i wont make it to PL again til late July at the earliest.
 
Luckily enough there are some steps to sit on outside the black footed cat enclosure which did come in handy this afternoon.

The sign posting for the small cats is none existent and the map isn't that great either, we relied on information we had seen on here before.

They do seem to have rather a lot of fishing cats, I was shocked at how few Clouded Leopards they had on show, we only saw 1 enclosure tucked away in the woods with 3 cats in.
 
pipaluk said:
I wouldn't say a dark horse, snowy owl has been steadily catching up and has had the good fortune to see every species at every collection visited, unlike most of us! I had to leave Port Lympne at 230, so at least i know why the black footed were so elusive.
I think the black footed clinches it so congratulations snowy owl, you'll have no problem seeing the golden cat & i wont make it to PL again til late July at the earliest.
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Its not over until the Black Footed Cat or Golden Cat sings!

I've just been lucky and managed to get photos of them all to which I have started to post and will put more up when I get chance
 
Snowy Owl said:
Its not over until the Black Footed Cat or Golden Cat sings!

I've just been lucky and managed to get photos of them all to which I have started to post and will put more up when I get chance
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I think the Thrigby Golden Cat is warming up already, you'll have no problem seeing it! Even if it's indoors at least the glass is clean, unlike PL, unless they've actually cleaned the windows now!?
 
pipaluk said:
I wouldn't say a dark horse, snowy owl has been steadily catching up and has had the good fortune to see every species at every collection visited, unlike most of us!
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Well, I'd say getting only 4 species in the first 3 months of the year, then getting 19 species in less than 2 months, counts as being a dark horse coming from behind ;)
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Well, I'd say getting only 4 species in the first 3 months of the year, then getting 19 species in less than 2 months, counts as being a dark horse coming from behind ;)
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I live a stones throw away from cotswold wildlife park, my grandparents live in Colwyn Bay, My inlaws have a flat 20 minutes away from Exmoor Zoo and my step daughters dad lives 20 minutes from Port Lympne so all of those were all easily planned. Hamerton and Marwell are only 90 minutes away so they were easy to fit in. I wanted to try and see as many as I could before going to Port Lympne so I could spend more time trying to see the Rusty Spotted and Black Footed Cats
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Well, I'd say getting only 4 species in the first 3 months of the year, then getting 19 species in less than 2 months, counts as being a dark horse coming from behind ;)
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I see your point, but it's been pretty obvious to me who was going to win for some time, barring someone doing a week's tour of the UK & having snowy owl's fortune. I'm lucky though in that i've hardly had to travel apart from Thrigby & then that saved me a trip to Wingham. I knew i had no chance once i missed out at Port Lympne. Perhaps there'll be a race to see the jungle cats if they get moved to Paradise WP, 45-50 mins for me, but i suspect not too far for snowy owl either!
 
Frankly, even if someone got 24 I would see it as worthwhile to keep the challenge open until December 31st, just in case jungle cat or another species - bobcat perhaps - arrived somewhere to make it interesting; after all, unlike the bear challenge, the 24 species currently in use as a target do not comprise all the species of cat that theoretically could be seen.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Frankly, even if someone got 24 I would see it as worthwhile to keep the challenge open until December 31st, just in case jungle cat or another species - bobcat perhaps - arrived somewhere to make it interesting; after all, unlike the bear challenge, the 24 species currently in use as a target do not comprise all the species of cat that theoretically could be seen.
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Good point, or perhaps a private collection may suddenly become a public one! Who knows. Incidentally, i saw the rusty spotted cat in the cage in the woods, just along from the clouded leopards, around 1pm, i didnt see them at all in the other cages by the fossa & margay.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Frankly, even if someone got 24 I would see it as worthwhile to keep the challenge open until December 31st, just in case jungle cat or another species - bobcat perhaps - arrived somewhere to make it interesting; after all, unlike the bear challenge, the 24 species currently in use as a target do not comprise all the species of cat that theoretically could be seen.
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Thinking about it- isn't a bobcat a lynx? I havent seen them since my first visit to Kilverstone in 1977 though so they would be a real plus if they turned up somewhere!
 
Lynx rufus to be precise. Just a shame Canada Lynx died out in the UK in recent years..... more of a shame they did so before I saw one.
 
pipaluk said:
Sorry, i assumed it was just a sub-species of lynx like carpathian or eurasian so wouldnt count, but i think i'm wrong now!
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There are four species of lynx:

Eurasian Lynx - Lynx lynx
Canada Lynx - Lynx canadensis
Bobcat - Lynx rufus
Iberian Lynx - Lynx pardinus
 
After a dry stretch, a visit to Marwell Zoo has bagged me another yeartick. For purposes of keeping track of where has what, it is worth observing Amazonworld on the Isle of Wight now no longer keep Geoffroy's Cat, as I learned yesterday.

Current running total - 15

Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) at Paignton - 27/01/2013

Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica) at Paignton - 27/01/2013

African Leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) at Exmoor - 28/01/2013

South African Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus) at Exmoor - 28/01/2013

Caracal (Caracal caracal) at Exmoor - 28/01/2013

Arabian Sand Cat (Felis margarita harrisoni) at Exmoor - 28/01/2013

Puma (Puma concolor) at Exmoor - 28/01/2013

Fishing Cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) at Exmoor - 28/01/2013

Carpathian Lynx (Lynx lynx carpathicus) at Newquay Zoo - 29/01/2013

Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) at Shaldon - 30/01/2013

Jaguar (Panthera onca) at Chester- 25/02/2013

Scottish Wildcat (Felis sylvestris scoticus) at Edinburgh - 09/04/2013

Tibetan Golden Cat (Pardofelis temminickii tristis) at Edinburgh - 09/04/2013

Serval (Leptailurus serval) at Chester - 20/04/2013

Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) at Marwell - 09/06/2013
 
My long-awaited trip to Port Lympne bagged me four cat species, two of which are lifeticks - at this point, although not within 2013, I have seen all 24 species of felid present in the UK, which I see as something of a personal success.

The black-footed cat, amazingly enough considering the torrential rain which was in progress when myself and Hel arrived, was actually the very first species we saw today! The weather improved towards noon, and we did not fail to see the species every time we passed the enclosure - the first time we saw them, they were curled up in a dark corner of their enclosure and we almost missed them, whilst the next few times we passed the enclosure both adult individuals were basking in front of the windows into their sleeping quarters - sadly the combination of unwashed glass and sunlight reflecting against said glass meant our photos, although recognisable as Black-footed Cats, are not particularly good.

The first rusty-spotted cat we sighted was the offshow male who, as noted previously in the thread, is held quite visibly in an enclosure just behind the rusty cat enclosure which neighbours the fossa enclosure. We later saw multiple rusty cats - who were both highly active and highly visible - in the enclosure near to the clouded leopards.

The margays and clouded leopards were also highly active considering the poor weather at the start of the day; the same can actually be said of all but one of the cat species. The one single feline no-show of the day - actually the only no-show full stop - were the Pallas Cats, which therefore represent a species I still require for the challenge.

As such, my current total has been increased by 4.

Current running total - 19

Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) at Paignton - 27/01/2013

Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica) at Paignton - 27/01/2013

African Leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) at Exmoor - 28/01/2013

South African Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus) at Exmoor - 28/01/2013

Caracal (Caracal caracal) at Exmoor - 28/01/2013

Arabian Sand Cat (Felis margarita harrisoni) at Exmoor - 28/01/2013

Puma (Puma concolor) at Exmoor - 28/01/2013

Fishing Cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) at Exmoor - 28/01/2013

Carpathian Lynx (Lynx lynx carpathicus) at Newquay Zoo - 29/01/2013

Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) at Shaldon - 30/01/2013

Jaguar (Panthera onca) at Chester- 25/02/2013

Scottish Wildcat (Felis sylvestris scoticus) at Edinburgh - 09/04/2013

Tibetan Golden Cat (Pardofelis temminickii tristis) at Edinburgh - 09/04/2013

Serval (Leptailurus serval) at Chester - 20/04/2013

Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) at Marwell - 09/06/2013

Black-Footed Cat (Felis nigripes) at Port Lympne - 22/06/2013

Sri-Lankan Rusty Spotted Cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus phillipsi) at Port Lympne - 22/06/2013

Yucatan Margay (Leopardus wiedii yucatanicus) at Port Lympne - 22/06/2013

Indochinese Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa nebulosa) at Port Lympne - 22/06/2013
 
Well done Dave, it seems that I must have just been unlucky and picked a bad day for the Black Footed Cats!
Shame about the Pallas's Cats, but at least you will be able to see them elsewhere hopefully.
 
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