FOH, Author at The Big Cat Sanctuary

In case you didn’t know, this rather handsome chap is Jack and he is a Jungle cat. He also happens to be celebrating a birthday – turning 8 years young on the 27th February. We can’t see a more fitting reason to celebrate Jack as our cat of the month!

Jack was born at Olmense Zoo in Belgium in 2012, moving to The Big Cat Sanctuary in December of the same year. Jack arrived on a cold and frosty morning, therefore suitably named after Jack Frost! Jack is a delightful boy; sweet and playful and known for thoroughly enjoying any enrichment provided to him by the keeping team, whether it be as part of his meal or simply for play! Jack is known for his love of hessian sacks and different scents to explore in his enclosure. Weighing in at approximately 10kg, Jack is known across the site for his distinctive “bark”; a clear and loud vocalisation made by Jungle cats, similar to that of a dog (rather than the mew of a cheetah, or chuff of a tiger). As with all of our cats, we believe that Jack is a particularly unique and special boy. However, in his circumstance, this is truer than most as Jack is one of only two Jungle cats in a UK collection.

A Jungle cat, or Felis chaus, is a small wild cat species found in forest, wetlands, deserts, and grasslands across Africa and Asia, including India, Egypt, Thailand, and the Middle East. They can range from anywhere between 3-12kg in weight and traditionally live on a diet of rodents and small mammals in their natural habitat. They have long legs and a slender body and are believed to be one of the closest species to that of our modern domestic cats. As with the majority of wild cats, Jungle cats are solitary in nature, usually only coming together to mate, however, they have been known to form coalitions for hunting purposes. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) last assessed this species in 2014, declaring them as Least Concern (LC), however, noting that their population is decreasing. Similar to that of other small wild cats that they share their ecosystem with, such as the Rusty-spotted cat and the Fishing cat, threats to the Jungle cat include loss of habitat, lack of prey and human-wildlife conflict.

There isn’t a breeding programme currently available for Jungle cats, likely due to their Least Concern classification by the IUCN, meaning Jack will remain a bachelor for the foreseeable future – not that he minds! Jack is the star of a new video series we have created; Meet the Cats! You can watch this first episode below.

Take part in one of our amazing animal experiences at The Big Cat Sanctuary including big cat experiences, photography experiences, safari lodges and overnight safari stays, ranger for a day experiences and our big cat afternoon tea with Paul Hollywood. You can also adopt a big cat and help the conservation efforts that support our amazing animals!

Our fabulous feline in focus this month is the smallest cat we have residing with us at the Sanctuary, in fact, the smallest species on the planet, Nuwara the Sri-Lankan Rusty-spotted cat!

Born at Parc de Felins in France on 25th April 2010, Nuwara came to The Big Cat Sanctuary in spring 2011 and has been a very much-loved member of our feline family since. Although as a species cats are generally known for their feisty and characterful personalities, Nuwara takes this to a whole new level. She is fast as lightning, cheeky, and will go above and beyond for her food.

A Rusty-spotted cat, or Prionailurus rubiginosus in latin, is a small wild cat, with two subspecies found in India and Sri-Lanka. They can weigh anywhere between 1-2kgs and as little as 900g, and have a varied diet of rodents, birds, eggs, reptiles and small vertebrates, and insects. Their distinctive physical features are their small, slender bodies which are smaller than domestic cats, their small, round heads and red to brown colouring (hence the ‘rusty’ name), along with white streaks, with camouflages them perfectly into their habitat. They are traditionally found in the desert, grassland and forest areas of their geographic range.

The latest IUCN Red List assessment classified the Rusty-spotted cat as Near Threatened, with their population numbers seen to be decreasing. The Rusty-spotted cat faces a number of threats in the wild; from human development resulting in a loss of habitat, a lack of prey to human-wildlife conflict through hunting. They are known to share the same ecosystems as other wild cats, such as Jungle cats and Fishing cats, in some areas of their range.

Closer to home, Nuwara has recently started a new activity in her life here at the Sanctuary – training! If you are a regular follower of our work, either through our website, newsletter, or social media channels, you’ll see that we continually stress the importance of good physical and mental health for our cats. This is done through a variety of enrichment techniques; interesting and interactive feeds, changing to their enclosure environment including the additions of new areas to explore and new scents, and interaction with our team in the form of training. Training allows our team to make regular health checks on our cats, from teeth, claws and other physical checks, to being able to administer vaccination and other potentially vital medical care without the need to cause undue stress on the animal.

Nuwara is undertaking her training sessions with Intern Ffion. In the video below, Ffion explains what is involved in training Nuwara and follow their progress as they undertaking this new journey together.

With the deepest regret, we, The Big Cat Sanctuary, announce the passing of Manzi the lion, head of our lion pride.

Affectionately known by keepers as either ‘Manzi Moo’ or ‘Big Man’, Manzi, along with his two brothers, Tiny and Kafara, were born on 29th August 2003 at Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire. The trio were only 19 days old when their mother was unable to care for them and they were taken on by the team at Paradise Wildlife Park. At just shy of two years old, the boys moved to The Big Cat Sanctuary.

This tight-knit trio lived together for many years, wowing guests as the only lions at the Sanctuary for a long time. As they matured, tensions began to build between the boys, and the decision was made to keep Manzi separated from his two brothers permanently, but they lived beside each other for many years. In March of 2017, it became time for Manzi to begin the next chapter of his life by joining our six white lionesses as their new pride leader. This is not a job for just any lion, six feisty females are by no means a pushover. After moving to his new home in the white lion house, it was only the following day that Manzi decided to make his presence known in no uncertain terms. He bellowed his incredible roar throughout the entire lion house, reverberating the sound against the walls of the building, amplifying it even further. Manzi had moved in and was going to let his new neighbours know who was in charge.

Recently our keepers observed changes in Manzi’s behaviour and lethargy alongside signs of changes in the prides dynamic. After being seen by vet, Dr. John Lewis, a large lump in his abdomen was found, thought to be a greatly enlarged spleen caused by lymphoma. When all the options were considered for Manzi, it was decided to keep him comfortable for as long as we were able and when we could no longer do this it would be time to say goodbye. A big lion with an even bigger personality, Manzi will leave a huge void for a long time to come for anyone who knew him. He will be so missed.

Going forward every effort will be made to ensure the lionesses of the pride remain calm, the Cat team are taking extra precautions and providing extra care and enrichment to help with the adjustment.

Manzi was an incredible ambassador for his wild cousins, there is now an estimated population of 23 – 39,000 and have been listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Endangered Species List since 2014.

Goodnight Big Man!