Tag Archives: big cats
video: big cats LOVE pumpkins!
As sad as I will be to have to stop cycling when it gets colder, I love the fall, and I especially love pumpkins. You know who else loves pumpkins? Big Cats!! The wonderful over at Big Cat Rescue collect unused/unsold pumpkins from local retailers to give them to the big kitties, and the results are awesome. Watch these big cats romp and frolic over pumpkins! They just love them!
big cat roarsday: beautiful bobcats
Love this beautiful photo of two bobcats at the North Carolina Zoo. Stunning photography by Flickr user ucumari.
big cat roarsday: swim test
I found this image on Tumblr and thought the little lion was just too cute. I thought there must be a story behind it, so I took to Google and found out that these lion cubs had to pass a swim test to make sure they would be safe in case they fell into the moat in their enclosure. This video shows all of the cubs taking (and passing) their swim tests:
I love how the last one actually seems to enjoy the water, whereas the others are all too eager to get out. Unlike their tiger cousins, lions apparently aren’t so keen on swimming, so these cubs (who are now probably much, much bigger, since this was taken back in 2010!) probably won’t be taking a dip of their own accord. But at least we know they’re safe if they happen to fall in!
big cat roarsday: lion king necklace
Lions may be the King of Beasts, but who says they don’t have a softer side? This adorable necklace by Mieko Takahashi is available for $34 in her Etsy shop, Shinzen Designs.
big cat roarsday: clouded leopards
I finally went to the Nashville Zoo last week, but as luck would have it, both of my SD cards were broken and I had to use my phone camera, which is close to useless with its poor photo quality. It’s a shame, because the clouded leopards (which I had somehow missed and had to get a map to find!) were up and about and I got some pretty good shots—pretty good shots with horrible quality.
The pictures of the other cats (tigers, panther, and lynx) are even worse, but I’m most upset about the clouded leopard ones, because I think they are now one of my favorite wild cats. Their coats are amazing, and they have such super long tails and giant paws! But they’re also fairly small as far as big cats go—in fact, they are the smallest of the big cats. Totally small enough to have as a pet (I wish!).
Here are some photos by photographers much better than I, taken from Flickr. I tried to find some good full-body shots, showing the length of their tails. As always, please click on the photo to be taken to the photographer’s Flickr page.
big cat roarsday: zooborns cats! book review
We often share stories from ZooBorns here on ModCatLove, so we were thrilled to receive a copy of the new ZooBorns Cats! book from Simon & Schuster, which came out on November 1st.
I have to be honest—up until the past year or so, I had no idea there were so many different species of cats out there. In the time that I’ve been blogging and connecting with other cat lovers, I’ve learned about so many wonderful species of cats—the sand cat, clouded leopards, the African black-footed cat, and one of my favorites, Pallas’s cat . Well, did you know that there are, according to the book, thirty-six different types of wild cat?
Although ZooBorns Cats! does of course feature well-known wild cats like lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, and lynxes, it teaches us about so many other lesser known species of cats, and there are some I’d never heard of, like the mysterious Guiña (also known as Huiña or Kodkod), the frog-eating(!) Iriomote cat, and the big-eyed oncilla.
In addition to showcasing some of the cutest pictures you’ve ever seen, ZooBorn Cats! is also extremely informative. Each species of cat comes with a tidbit of information, such as its lifestyle, where it is found, and whether it is endangered or not. Most of the cats are named, as well, and their birth dates and birth locations are also provided.
I live outside of Nashville, so I was pleasantly surprised to see not one but two cats from the Nashville Zoo featured in the book. This here is Matsi, who was born at the Nashville Zoo in June 2010. I wonder how big she is now? The other Nashvillian kitty is Blitz the Eurasian Lynx, who was born during the May floods last year! According to the book, Blitz is part of an outreach and educational program called “Wildlife on Wheels.” I am hoping to go on my first trip to the Nashville Zoo soon, so I hope I’m able to catch a glimpse of these two celebrities!
Just look at all those precious little baby wild cats! You know you can’t resist them! This is a great little book to have and would make a terrific present. Not only is it adorable and educational, but also 10% of the proceeds from the sale of every book is donated to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Conservation Endowment Fund.
Buy ZooBorns Cats! now, available at Amazon!
