House cat nurses abandoned bobcats

Wild litter found after demolition of an abandoned house in S.C.

COLUMBIA, S.C. - In just a few months, three baby bobcats found in South Carolina could be a danger to a gray tabby named Zoe. But these days, the fuzzy felines are just members of the family for the nursing mother. The bobcats, orphaned after the abandoned house they were living under in Newberry County was demolished, are being nursed by Zoe at Carolina Wildlife Care near the Saluda River a few miles northwest of downtown Columbia.

The nursing is expected to last about four weeks and is intended to give the bobcats a feline on which to imprint, said Joanna Weitzel, executive director of the wildlife rescue group. "It's important they get that nurturing and care from a species similar to their own."

After five weeks, though, their razor-sharp teeth and claws could hurt Zoe and Zoe's kittens — an orange tabby and a calico that now dwarf the three bobcats in their kennel. The bobcats are expected to grow over the coming months to the size of large dogs — about 22 inches tall and up to 70 pounds — while their adoptive siblings will likely max out around 10 pounds.

Once the bobcats are weaned, they will be put in a specially built habitat. The goal is to minimize their contact with humans.

"If they lose their natural fear of humans, it's almost like a death sentence," Weitzel said.

Video   Cat nurses bobcat kittens April 29: A housecat living in a Tampa shelter is playing mom to three bobcats along with her own litter of kittens.

The habitat alone will cost about $2,000, not including the year's supply of live rodents the three will need to learn how to hunt and kill. Carolina Wildlife is hoping to raise enough money to provide the care the bobcats will need for up to 18 months when they should be ready to return to the wild.

The animals are being checked out by a veterinarian at nearby Riverbanks Zoo.

 

Jumping wolf photographer loses wildlife prize

The winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award has been disqualified after judges ruled that the featured wolf was probably a "model".

The 2009 winning image, dubbed the storybook wolf, was taken by photographer Jose Luis Rodriguez.

Mr Rodriguez strongly denied that the wolf was a trained animal, according to a statement from the organizers.

His photograph was chosen out of more than 43,000 competition entries in October 2009.

Louise Emerson from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition office explained that the judging panel had been "reconvened" and had concluded that it was likely that the wolf featured in the image was an animal model that could be "hired for photographic purposes".

This, she said, was in breach of the competition rules which are made available to all entrants.

"The judging panel looked at a range of evidence and took specialist advice from panel judges who have extensive experience of photographing wildlife including wolves," continued Ms Emerson.

"They also considered the responses to specific questions put to the photographer."

Wildlife photographer Mark Carwardine was one of the competition judges. He told BBC News that this was the first time in its 46 year history that there would not be a winner.

Mr Carwardine explained that he and his fellow judges had gathered evidence and sought the opinions of wolf experts in order to reach their decision.

The experts compared the winning picture to pictures of Ossian, a tame wolf that lives at a zoological park near Madrid called Canada Real.

"You can see several very distinctive markings and the experts all agreed that, yes, it's the same wolf," said Mr Carwardine.

"We disqualified [Mr Rodriguez] and banned him for life from entering the competition again, so I think that sends a strong message."

Mr Carwardine added that Mr Rodruiguez had, throughout the investigation, denied "hiring" Ossian for the photograph. The disqualified photographer maintains that his subject was a wild wolf.

Mr Rodriguez was not immediately available for comment.

"This is very sad and I think it might make us more suspicious of entries that are too good to be true," said Mr Carwardine. But he added that he hoped it would encourage honesty in the competition in the future.

The disqualified photograph will be removed from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, which is being held at the Natural History Museum in London. The exhibition tour will also take place without a winning image.

Big freeze and ice is 'good for pond life

The big freeze, which has led to many of the UK's ponds freezing over, may benefit animals living beneath the surface.

Received wisdom says that pond owners should break a hole in the ice to allow oxygen to reach the water.

But new research by conservation charity Pond Conservation has shown the opposite is true.

Oxygen levels can actually rise in a frozen-over pond, benefiting the animals and plants living beneath.

The recent Arctic conditions and adverse weather has had a significant impact on wildlife, which will be detailed by Snow Watch, a special BBC programme broadcast at GMT2000 on Wednesday 13th January on BBC Two.

To safeguard pond wildlife during freezing weather, standard advice has always been to make a hole in the ice to allow oxygen into the pond, says Dr Jeremy Biggs, director of policy and research at Pond Conservation.

But new research undertaken by Pond Conservation suggests that most garden ponds and their wildlife will survive during the big freeze if left to their own devices.

There are estimated to be around three million garden ponds in the UK, and half a million wild ponds Ponds support more endangered freshwater plants and animals than either rivers or lakes Ponds provide habitat for a range of species including dragonflies, damselflies, mayflies, water beetles, hibernating frogs and others

Ponds freeze from the surface downwards and very rarely freeze completely, leaving large volumes of freshwater under the ice.

Making a hole in the ice makes very little difference to the amount of oxygen in this water, says Dr Biggs.

This is because oxygen diffuses so slowly into still water, moving through about 2mm a day.

So in a pond 50cm deep, it takes over 8 months for oxygen to diffuse to the bottom.

Even under ice, plants continue to photosynthesis, producing oxygen.

With a covering of ice the oxygen is trapped in the pond and, if the ice cover lasts for long enough, oxygen levels will rise.

So if garden ponds have lots of underwater plants or algae, oxygen levels can nearly double in the coldest weather.

The only time that pond owners should intervene is if they own fish, or the bottom of their ponds are full of silt and dead leaves.

Then it is worth stirring up the water, mixing oxygenated and deoxygenated water, preferably using a pump or fountain, says Dr Biggs.

Also any snow should be brushed from a frozen pond's surface, as it blocks the light and will stop underwater plants from producing oxygen.

Under such conditions, oxygen levels can fall significantly.

Health warning

However, Dr Biggs cautions that pond owners should take great care around frozen ponds, and ensure they never step onto the ice which could easily break.

According to Pond Conservation, ponds are among the most threatened UK habitats, with government data showing that 80% of ponds in England and Wales are in poor or very poor condition.

To maintain a healthy garden pond in the long term, says Dr Biggs, make sure that the pond has plenty of underwater plants and is shallow.

"Shallow ponds are better lit than deep dark ponds so can produce more oxygen for their volume," he says.

"Ideally, also keep the pond water as clean and unpolluted as you can to help the submerged plants flourish."

Elephant kills US tourists in Kenya

An American tourist and her one-year-old child have been trampled to death by an elephant in Kenya, officials say.

They were walking in a group in Mount Kenya Forest with a tour guide when the elephant attacked.

"The woman and her daughter died on the spot. The others escaped unhurt because they were able to run," AFP news agency quoted a police officer as saying.

The owner of the lodge where the group were staying told Kenya's Nation paper the elephant attacked from behind.

Melin Van Laar told the paper the lodge's management and the Kenya Wildlife Service were discussing the possibility for providing the guides with guns.

The 39-year-old woman, who has not yet been named, was on holiday with her husband - who reportedly survived the incident.

The victims' bodies have been flown to the capital, Nairobi.

Stampeding elephants can reach top speeds of about 25mph (40km/h).