C A N I D S A N D P E L I D S IN C A P T I V I T Y 49

MALE F E M A L E

b. 7 M A R C H 1967 b. 16 J U L Y 1967

I month 61j g z& weeks 650 g 9& weeks 1300 g

Table 2. female Temminck’s golden cat Felis temminckii born at Wassenaar Zoo.

Comparison of weights of hand-reared male and naturally reared

The striking fact in this breeding case was that the male parent played an active and tolerant part in the rearing of the young.

breeding Fishing cats Felis viverrina

at Philadelphia Zoo F R E D E R I C K A. U L M E R , J R Czsrutor o f Mammals, Philadelphia Zoological Garden, Pennsylvania, USA

The Fishing cat Felzs viverrinu of India, Ceylon, South-East Asia and Indonesia, is a comparatively little-known felid, despite its wide range. On 24 November 1959 a female was received at Philadelphia Zoo and on 27 May 1960 she was joined by a male. Both animals were bought from the firm of F. J. Zeehandelaar, Inc, of New Rochelle, USA. They got along well together, but they have remained very wild and suspicious. The male is the dominant animal and has remained savage and aggressive to all human beings. At the approach of a keeper, he will rush forward, snarling, and rub his body vigorously against the bars, stiff-legged with claws extended and tail arched. The female simply crouches down close to the floor under the resting shelf at the back of the cage and watches wide-eyed with fear.

The Fishing cats were routinely vaccinated against feline enteritis (distemper) with a series of three z cc injections of killed virus and, after a period of eight weeks in which to develop immunity, they were exposed to the live feline enteritis virus placed in their food.

50 C A N I D S A N D FELIDS I N C A P T I V I T Y

No further immunisation has been given. They have always been healthy, apart from a cheek-tooth root abscess under the right eye of the male in September 1965. The resultant swelling caused the right eye to be half-closed. Treatment was given orally with Unipen (Sodium nafcillin, Wyeth) and Polyotic (Tetracycline hydrochloride, American Cyanamid Co) in meat. The condition was first noted on 6 September 1965 and on 8 September the swelling had greatly reduced in size. By 13 September 1965 medication was discontinued since the cat’s face appeared normal.

The Fishing cats are fed once daily at 1500 hours, each cat receiving 453 g of ground raw horse meat, to which is added vitamins and minerals (Ratcliffe, 1966: Diet C). In addition, the Fishing cats are offered smelt Osnzerur rnordux one day a week. Surprisingly, though the female eats the fish avidly, the male has gradually lost interest in them, so that we no longer give them to him. The male eats his meat promptly, but the female rarely touches hers until the building is deserted.

So wild and suspicious are these cats that their behaviour is difficult to observe. As soon as they realise they are being watched, all activity ceases.

There was no evidence of mating or breeding in 1961, 1962 or 1963. Thus the birth of two kittens on 5 March 1964 was totally unexpected. The female appeared rather heavy in the body, but this was thought to be fat, since we had to place large portions of food in the cage to ensure that the male did not eat all of it. One baby was born before 0900 hours and was squealing loudly, with tail bitten off and the base of the spine damaged when the keepers arrived. Surmising that the male had injured the baby, he was moved to the out- door cage and the badly injured kitten was removed and destroyed. A nest-box was placed in the cage and the female entered it, but by the late afternoon, when no more young had appeared, the male was readmitted to the indoor cage. A second baby was born at 1645 hours (at least eight hours after the first one). It was heard by the keepers and found crawling on the floor of the cage outside the nest-box. The male had not molested it, but since he was suspected of having mutilated the first, he was once again moved, this time to an adjacent cage. He was very reluctant to move.

The dead kitten was a male and weighed 170 g (less tail). The measurements were: head and body length 183 mm; tail missing; hind foot with claws 39 mm; hind foot without claws 37.5 mm; crown to tip of ear 13 mm; ear-notch to tip of ear 16 mm. The eyes and ear openings were closed. The pinnae of the ears were folded forward and down- wards over the ear openings. The kitten was fully clawed and furred. It was striped and spotted like its parents and there was a conspicuous white patch on the chin extending up round the corners of the mouth. Small white spots were already present on the backs of the ears.

At 0800 hours on 6 March 1964 the surviving baby (a female) was in the nest-box where it could be heard crying. Apparently the female had carried it into the box, where it remained quietly for the rest of the day. The female stayed in the box all day. At 1710 hours I saw the female on top of the box where she remained for 10 minutes. The baby

CANIDS AND F E L I D S I N C A P T I V I T Y 5’

was quiet. Later, at 1730 hours, the female was at the water bowl and I could hear the baby mewing softly in the box. On 9 March 1964 at 1700 hours the female was in the box and I again heard the baby mewing faintly. At 1730 hours the mother came out and ate her meat.

At 0920 hours on 22 March the baby Fishing cat was seen looking out of the box for the first time. It was 16 days old and its eyes were open. At 1730 hours on 31 March I caught a brief glimpse of the baby in the box. At 1800 hours the female was looking out at me and I could hear the baby scratching with its claws inside the box. On I April I saw the kitten looking out of the box curiously a t 1730 hours, but it did not seem to notice me. The mother watched me, motionless. Finally the baby retired into the box as though afraid to come out. The stripes down its head and neck were very pronounced.

It was dark and cloudy on 2 April. At 1715 hours the baby Fishing cat was seen out in the cage for the first time. It was 28 days old. It smelt everything in the cage and tried to climb a 12 cm door sill, but could not lift up its hind legs, which kept slipping sideways on the smooth floor, At 1745 hours it was back in the box, looking out and mewing softly. The mother stayed in the box watching me. Next day, 3 April, at 1635 hours the kitten was outside the box, walking round the cage, completely oblivious of spectators. She used her hind legs more efficiently and easily climbed up over the door sill to re-enter the nest box where her mother had remained the entire time.

A weak bird-like ‘chirp’ attracted my attention to the baby Fishing cat at 1730 hours on 6 April. She was up on top of her nest box, 50 cm above the floor, and appeared too frightened to jump down. Finally she came down, head first, in the space between the box and the back wall, and joined her mother inside the box. On 7 April 1964, at 33 days of age, the kitten seemed to see me for the first time. She WAS out walking round the cage at 1715 hours when she saw me and showed curiosity rather than fear. She was still out in the cage at 1800 hours and the roaring of the lions did not seem to frighten her.

At 1730 hours on 15 April the baby Fishing cat was observed reaching up the side of the nest-box, almost to the top, trying to climb. She was playful and tossed her head rapidly, making a little cry. She ran very well. She smelt the meat placed in the cage for her mother but did not eat any of it. On 21 April at 1700 hours the baby was seen outside the box, squatting on the floor to urinate. Her reflexes were now excellent. When I squeaked she swung quickly towards the sound; she also reacted visually to my movements.

At 1710 hours on 22 April the mother Fishing cat was lying in the front of the cage while the baby playfully batted the water in the drinking bowl and then shook her p m . She used her right fore-paw. When the mother saw me she took the baby’s neck in her mouth and carried it into the box. Playing in the water became a favourite pastime of the kitten and she would often splash water all over the cage. Her fondness for water would seem to bear out the reputed aquatic habits of Felis vicerrinu in the wild. On 28 April at 1700 hours the baby stopped playing in the water bowl to leap 50 cm up on to the top of the nest box with virtually no effort. She playfully reached down with her fore-paw to

52 C A N I D S A N D F E L I D S IN C A P T I V I T Y

bat at her mother’s head protruding from the nest box. Her co-ordination by now was excellent. On the evening of I May the kitten was playing with the smelts placed in the cage as food for the mother. The baby was taking the fish in her mouth, tossing them all over the cage and then batting them with her paws. Finally, she ran into the box when I approached too closely.

At 59 days of age (3 May 1964) the baby Fishing cat was first observed eating meat. She was much bolder than her timid mother and continually ventured out of the nest-box without her parent. At 2200 hours on 7 May I found her alone in the dark on top of the nest-box. On 13 May at 1730 hours I saw that she was suffering from hiccoughs; otherwise her health was excellent.

On 21 May the baby Fishing cat was playing in the water bowl when I approached, causing her to run into the nest-box. I placed a live fledgling house sparrow in the cage. The kitten was curious, came out slowly to approach the bird, and jumped back in alarm when it moved. Finally, she batted the bird, first with her right paw and then with her left paw, but the bird slipped out under the cage front and I did not put it back in again. Both mother and baby were out at 1715 hours on I June. The mother ran into the nest-box when I approached, but the baby stood her ground. She had been playing in the water basin. Again, on 4 June at 1700 hours both were out-the baby on top of the box and the mother nearby on the wooden shelf in the cage. The mother stared at me in alarm. The baby did not appear to observe me at first, but stopped playing and stiffened to stare when she finally saw me. She was, at 91 days of age, the size of a half-grown domestic cat.

On 17 August 1964 the Fishing cat kitten was very bold and refused to move from the front of the cage when I came close. The mother ran into the nest-box. The kitten glared at me and behaved more like her father than her mother. By 24 November the young Fishing cat, lying beside her mother on the cage floor, was indistinguishable in size (264 days old).

There was much activity in the Fishing cat cage at twilight on 4 January 1965. The mother and full-grown young cat were jumping round the nest-box with loud thumps. One chased the other up the wire front of the cage to the ceiling, but in the dusk I could not tell the animals apart. I felt certain that this unusual activity was associated with oestrus and several times in the dark that night I heard from a distance the chuckling call ‘eh-eh-eh-eh’, which later I found out was uttered by the male Fishing cat (Ulmer, 1966). The very first time I heard this call was at 1700 hours on 18 December 1964. The same call was again heard on 7, I I, 18,28 and 29 January and on I February 1965. I suspect it was a mating call. However, I have recorded the call in every month of the year.

On 5 February 1965 I separated the Fishing cats and found the daughter much fiercer than her mother. She possessed adult canine teeth and was larger than her mother. A grille door was placed between the parent Fishing cats and on 10 February they were allowed together at 1000 hours. As usual, the male ignored the female and instead rubbed against the bars of the cage and threatened the human observers present. He showed no

CANIDS AND FELIDS I N CAPTIVITY 53

interest in the female until we removed ourselves a good distance away. The female then came over into his cage, where he smelt her briefly. She was unafraid of him, although they had been separated for almost a year. No calls were heard that night, but the follow- ing night a Fishing cat call was heard at 1648 hours, They were both in the female’s cage, but their hearing was so acute that they knew I was approaching (although I had removed my shoes) and quickly ceased calling, so I was unable to tell which one had called. How- ever, females are quite capable of making the calls as I discovered on 13 December 1965. The young female born on 5 March 1964 called several times at 1400 hours on 13 Decem- ber. Her calls were not as long nor as perfect as those made by the male, but they were quite recognisable. She then called frequently during December 1965 and January 1966.

The old female appeared to be pregnant on 17 March 1965 and was once again separated from the male and given a nest-box. No young were born that year so on 30 June 1965 the breeding pair of Fishing cats were reunited.

Our Fishing cats arc such furtive animals that I have never observed copulation. How- ever, on 28 January- 1966 the caretaker of the Carnivora Building, Mrs Elnora Johnson, told me that she had seen the Fishing cats mate that day. Acting on this information, I separated them on 4 February and gave the female a nest-box. On 9 March her abdomen looked very swollen and heavy and that afternoon she ignored her food and remained in the nest-box, suggesting that birth was imminent. The following day I heard kittens crying in the box at 1730 hours. This would seem to indicate a gestation period of only 41 days but copulation, which must have occurred earlier than 28 January, was unobserved. Subsequently we established that the species has a gestation period of 63 days (see below).

The wheezing cries I had heard on 10 March had sounded like ‘wheee-ah’ but they were very faint. At 0900 hours on 11 March I heard the babies crying with the mother in the box with them. At 1530 hours they cried loudly while the mother was outside the box eating fish. On 12 March caretaker John Hawkes saw two baby Fishing cats outside the box. He insisted that they crawled out on their own, following their mother, and were not carried out by her. It happened when she came out to eat. When she had finished eating she carried them back into the box.

At 1730 hours on 31 March a baby Fishing cat was outside chewing the edge of the box. Its eyes were open and its hind legs were widely splayed on the slippery floor. I heard it utter bird-like chirps. Finally, the mother took it in her mouth and pulled it back into the box. At this point the kitten was 21 days old. The following day, at 1700 hours, the kitten was again walking round and later I heard it mewing at the back of the box. On 5 April at 1710 hours I tip-toed round and the baby was smelling the mother’s meat. At this moment, for the first time in my presence, the female uttered the chuckling ‘eh-eh-eh-eh’ call. She then crept over to the meat, saw me, went quite still and then seized the baby and carried it inside. At 1730 hours both babies were outside the box. One climbed back into the box easily when it saw me, but the other stayed outside. They were able to walk much more steadily now-almost normally.

54 C A N I D S A N D F E L I D S I N C A P T I V I T Y

On 6 April the two kittens were out several times in daylight, attracting crowds of visitors. The mother was kept busy carrying them back into the box. At 1730 hours both were outside, in opposite corners of the cage, but they ran nimbly back into the box when they saw me. Their head and body length was now about 200 mm. Both babies were out of the box without their mother at 1730 hours on 7 April, and this time they ignored me. One scratched its face with its right hind foot.

On 12 April 1966 at 33 days of age one baby was sitting on top of the shelf in the cage at 1730 hours. To get there it had to leap up on the nest-box which was 50 cm high. On 18 April at 1730 hours the mother was lying on top of the box suckling the two babies which were stretched out beside her. The babies ignored me but the mother watched me very closely. From then on this was their favourite spot to lie and be suckled. On 2 May 1966 at 53 days of age a baby Fishing cat was seen eating the ground meat mixture.

On 4 May at 1704 hours the mother was lying on her side, rolling round, pleasantly relaxed, or possibly in oestrus, while her two babies played in the water bowl. When they saw me, one ran into the box, but the other one remained at the bowl, until the mother came over and tried to pick it up in her jaws and carry it back to the box. At this point I promptly departed. On 24 May at 1720 hours the two kittens were playing so violently inside the nest-box that the loud thumping noises they made could be heard half way round the huge building. They popped their heads out of the box to look at me.

During June the play activity of the kittens became intense (always after 1700 hours). The mother would lie on her shelf with the youngsters romping all over her. They wrestled violently with each other, and leaped all over each other on the floor or on top of the nest-box. The water bowl was used a lot and they even chased flies, leaping 60 cm up the cage walls after them. With the advent of warm weather we left the door to the out- door cage open and both mother and kittens often went out there after 1700 hours (closing time) when all was quiet. The kittens watched house sparrows intently and crouched in typically cat fashion to stalk them. On 3 August 1966 at 1815 hours I found the babies had come back indoors and one had climbed about 2.4 m up the wire cage front to the ceiling.

At 1730 hours on 17 August I placed a freshly killed house sparrow in the outdoor cage. The mother came out, smelt it, but did not pick it up. Later, at 1748 hours, I came back and the sparrow had gone. A loud thumping noise in the nest-box attracted my attention. One of the kittens was tossing the sparrow wildly round the box. Finally it tossed it out of the door and then dashed out to grab it in its mouth before the other young one could get it.

The young Fishing cats were still being suckled on 5 September 1966 at 179 days of age. Even as late as 23 September the female’s mammae were large and showed signs of recent suckling. However, on 23 September I removed the young cats from the mother’s cage to give them their first injections of killed feline distempx virus (Fevac, Fromm Laboratories). Both kittens were females and at 197 days of age they were about three- quarters the size of their mother. In catching one, an upper milk carnassial tooth that was almost ready to be shed, was torn loose causing considerable bleeding.

CANIDS AND FELIDS I N C A P T I V I T Y 55

Even after they were separated from their mother, the 1966 youngsters did not lose their playfulness. On 2 1 November 1966 at 1700 hours they were noisily batting the food pan round in the dark in their cage. Towards me and the keepers, however, they were fairly hostile. They would charge out of their box at us, snarling and with claws extended as though they were about to attack. They had the habit of defaecating in their water bowl, although this was inconvenient for them as the bowls are raised 38 cm above the floor.

Although the breeding female Fishing cat looked pregnant on 9 February 1967 and was separated and given a nest-box, no young were born. Perhaps this was because I placed the nest-box at the front of the cage so that I could look through a small observation hole. Previously the nest box had been at the back of the cage, as far away from the public as possible. But if the moving of the nest-box disturbed the mother, it is amazing that she successfully reared the single young female in 1964 after the much greater disturbance that took place then.

Fishing cats have been born at Frankfurt Zoo in 1960, 1961 and in 1963 when three (one male, two females) were produced. I have been told that the male Fishing cat at Frankfurt Zoo is left with the mother and young and that he behaves very well towards his offspring. It is not so with our male and we find it best to keep him separated from his family during the birth and rearing of the young.

The gestation period of our Fishing cats was finally established in the summer of 1967. After the unsuccessful breeding attempt in the early spring, the male and female were reunited on 16 June 1967. As usual, the male walked into the female’s cage, ignored her and stalked back into his own cage stiff-legged with his claws out, staring at a nearby keeper. However, at 1815 hours on 25 June the Fishing cats were seen mating by a visitor. The female yowled a loud ‘meow’ as the male grasped her by the neck and mounted her. A few minutes later the female again entered the male’s cage, rubbed against him, raised her tail and crouched down. Unfortunately, ‘the male noticed the keeper watching him from a great distance and refused to co-operate with the female. On 8 August the female was noticed to be very heavy in the abdomen. She was separated from the male and given a nest box away from the front of the cage. The cries of young were heard from the box on 27 August, thus indicating a gestation period of 63 days.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am greatly indebted to Head Keeper Norman Hess, Senior Keeper Montgomery Simmons, and Junior Keeper Jesse W. Strange, as well as those people mentioned in the report, for making available to me their observations on the Fishing cats.

R E F E R E N C E S

RATCLIFFE, H. L. (1966): Diets for zoological gardens: aids to conservation and disease control. int . ZOO

ULMER, F. A., Jr. (1966): Voices of the Felidae. Int. Zoo Yb. 6: 259-262. Yb. 6: 4-23.