Friday, April 20, 2007

More Big Cats....




These are more cats from ADWC. Currently the facility is private and belongs to and is supported by HH Sh. Mansoor bin Zayed al Nahyan. It is moving to a bigger location with more space for the cats within a few months and the facility will be open to the public. The new facility is on the road towards to Emirates International Endurance Village.

Many of these cats are rescues from less than ideal situations and now live in a spotless, modern facility under the eye of Ronel Smuts, who is without a doubt, one of the most dedicated people to animal conservation I have ever met. What she has done is noting short or a miracle and without her devotion, many of these big cats would not be alive. Some of the stories about how some of the cats came to the center are horrific and both Ronel and HH Sh. Mansoor are to be commended on what has been accomplished.

The cheetahs represented at ADWC are Somali cheetahs and are an endangered sub species. The center has been successful in breeding the cats as Diego is proof of what dedication to saving these animals can do.

The black cat shown is a black leopard. The center also have tigers, caracals, jaguars and lions, a year old male lion Zulu, I was able to scratch him as well!

The ADWC does school programs to teach kids about animal conservation and why these are not pets in the hope that with education about these animals plight will bring a sense that we all need to work to keep these beautiful cats safe.

Please get involved, they will be looking for public support in the new center and what better than to be able to visit such amazing creatures and contribute to their survival.

Abu Dhabi Wildlife Center






Take a look at these babies! This is Diego the baby cheetah and Lilly, the serval cat. In the wild, they would never be together, but they have each other for company at the ADWC. Both were bottle fed babies as their mother's abandoned them.

We were guests at ADWC and what a treat seeing these big cats. I played with Diego as he is really outgoing and he purred like a kitty while being scratched. Then he wanted to play and took turns jumping on us! He reminds me of a Great Dane puppy, huge feet and long legs.

There is another pregnant cheetah who will deliver in about 1 month. While breeding cheetahs in captivity is not easy, so far, they have been successful.