First, a cartoon that perfectly reflects today’s politics, both Right and Left, as a zero sum game:
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Here’s a National Geographic video of Scottish wildcat kittens. The origin of this “species” is under dispute. It may be a relative subspecies (Felis silvestris grampia) of the European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris), but it isn’t clear whether the wildcats are largely feral cats or an admixture of the descendants of wildcats and feral cats that, having escaped from human captivity, bred with the wild ones. At any rate, they couldn’t have lived in the British isles until after the last glaciation—about 12,000 years ago. Here are the YouTube notes:
These two Scottish wildcat kittens are among the last of their kind. A type of European wildcat found only in the Scottish Highlands, around 35 individuals remain. The brother and sister were found alone in the wild, at seven weeks old. Conservation organization Wildcat Haven rescued the orphans. They are now at a rehabilitation center in a large enclosure, with minimal human contact. The two kittens will be released in the West Highlands in the spring, when they are old enough to survive in the wild.
Though they appear similar, wildcats can be as much as twice the size of domestic cats. They have mostly unbroken stripes, and thick, blunt tails with distinct bands and a black tip. Keen nocturnal hunters, they commonly hunt small mammals, like mice, voles, and hares. Hybridization, a result of interbreeding with feral and domestic cats, threatens the Scottish wildcats’ survival. Conservationists are working to protect the wildcats’ habitat, and to neuter domestic cats in targeted areas.
The kittens were photographed for the National Geographic Photo Ark, a project to document all species in the world’s zoos and wildlife sanctuaries — including those that are threatened. Photo Ark aims to use the power of photography to inspire people to help save species at risk.
They look just like tabbies to me! But let nobody pretend that these are representatives of a truly wild species, unmixed with genes from domestic cats.
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Here’s another episode of Simon’s Cat “Cat Logic,” which combines cartoons with solid cat information from the expert Nicky Trevarrow from Cats Protection. This episode is about how to properly move a cat from one home to another.
h/t: Michael, Susan
