Breeding the European lynx Felis 1. lynx at the Norfolk Wildlife Park

95 BREEDING

with numerous dark spots. The head lacks spots. The rapidity and nature of the colour change was very marked.

In July 1967 the young animals were sent in a sedated condition by air to Dudley Zoo in England, and the parents were reunited in the original enclosure.

At the beginning of 1968, it seemed that the female was again pregnant, although this time it was less obvious and mating had not been ob- served. I decided to leave the pair together.

On the arrival of the zoo staff at q o o hours on 19 January 1968 it was discovered that a single youngster had been born during the night and had already been cleaned by the mother. Thus, a year plus two days separated the birth. Both parents were excited and despite my original decision not to remove the male, I now thought it best to do so.

The significant aspect of the development of this single youngster is that it was in every way much slower than that of either of the twins of

the previous year. The weight of the animal a t birth was less than either of the twins (see Table I) and the corresponding monthly weights have so far rerkined lower. The young animal is much more nervous than either of the twins and it started to come out of the inner room into the outer enclosure only when it was about three months old. I t was not until 8 April 1968 that the commencement of the colour change to adult pelage was observed, and it started taking an interest in solid food only at the beginning of April 1968. In any case, solid food was only taken if the animal was temporarily separated from its mother, as it was reluctant to attempt to take any of the mother's food. However, apart from the interesting difference in rate of develop ment as compared with that ofthe twins, this single youngster appears basically strong and active and I have no doubt that we shall rear it successfully. It remains to be seen whether the mother will again become pregnant at the same time of year. '

Breeding the European lynx

at the Norfolk Wildlife Park Felis 1. Iynx

P H I L I P W A Y R E Director, Norfolk Wildlge Park, Great Witchingham, Great Britain

A pair of adult European lynx Felis 1. lynx was pur- chased from a dealer in January 1966 and are believed to have come from Czechoslovakia. Upon arrival at the Norfolk Wildlife Park the pair was put into a quarantine cage measuring 6 x 3 . 6 ~ 2.4 m with a heated, brick built den.

During March 1966 the female called loudly at night from time to time and was presumed to be in oestrus, though mating was not observed. The male sometimes called immediately after tlie female; her call can best be described as a very loud and powerful cat-like yowl repeated up to a dozen times, followed by a pause before the sequence is repeated again. The male had a much deeper growling call. When calling the female often stood on the roof of the den turning her head to all points of the compass.

Bouts of calling occurred in April 1966 but breeding did not take place that year. However, in March 1967 the female called loudly for about a week in the middle of the month and by early May it became obvious that she was pregnant. The male was then moved to a nearby cage where he could see and hear the female.

On 26 May 1967 she gave birth to a single male cub. Care was taken not to disturb her in any way and it was not until 12 June that the cub was actually seen. By that time (17 days) its eyes were opened but it was scarcely able to crawl.

On 17 June, 22 days after parturition, the female called loudly at night. The cub began to play with solid food, usually raw rabbit or hare, when four weeks old and by the time it was six weeks old it started to eat the raw meat. By 29

BREEDING 96

July (64 days) the lynx cub was active and able to climb the boughs in its cage. I t was extremely playful, its coat was getting paler, and the char- acteristic spots began to appear on its front legs. Within a week spots began to show on the hind legs also.

During the second half of July the cub was given two injections of Feline infectious enteritis vaccine (Behringwerke). On 4 August all three lynx were moved to a new open enclosure of grassland and trees covering over half an acre. The male had the run of the whole paddock while the female and cub were kept in a smaller adjoin- ing pen. -4s the male seemed to be well disposed towards the cub and often lay alongside the female against the dividing netting, it was decided to reunite them and on 23 August the female and cub were allowed into the large enclosure. The male showed no animosity towards the cub and at times even permitted it to share his food.

The female was seen to suckle the cub several

times during the first half of August but by that time it was already partially weaned and was probahly getting very little milk. It was com- pletely weaned by the time it was 12 weeks old.

By the beginning of September the cub, now 14 weeks old, was much more independent. It was seen to climb six metres up an oak tree and spent more time away from the female often wandering more than 50 m from her and some- times sitting near the male. At this age it was first observed to cover its food by pulling grass over it, using first one front foot and then the other. This behaviour is often seen in the adults. From October onwards all three animals were usually lying together and the cub, though still consider- ably smaller than the female, was similar to an adult in general appearance.

This appears to be the first successful breeding of the European lynx in Britain for more than thirty years.

A brief note on the birth of Snow leopards Panthera uncia

at Dallas Zoo

L A R R Y 0. C A L V I N Curator, Dallas Zoo, Dallas, Texas, USA

A pair of wild caught Snow leopards Panthera uncia were received at the Dallas Zoo on 16 June 1964. During the summer of their arrival the tempera- ture reached a maximum of 42'c (IO~OF), but these leopards, which are accustomed to a cold climate, appeared to withstand the heat without any apparent difficulties. On 14 January 1967 they were observed mating. They were allowed to remain together until 9 April 1967, when the female was taken from the display and confined

to the den area. On the evening of 23 April 1967 two kittens (male and female) were born after a gestation period of 99 days. They were left with the mother because she was very protective and exhibited traits of a good mother. During the first four weeks no one except the keeper was per- mitted to come in contact with the mother and babies. At six weeks of age the two babies ventured out of the den and began to play together.