Very cute but,
we're worried about this baby leopard cat
“Sigh… can he maintain his wildness?”
Chungnam Wild Animal Rescue Center: We save them, but shouldn’t let them follow humans
It’s important… to minimize those stimuli...
but, he’s too young
Kitty or a leopard cat, that is the question
Chungnam Wild Animal Rescue Center
Baby leopard cat is under management in an incubator
I think he’s 10 days to 2 weeks old by now
The informant found him by accident
said that he was by himself
A baby leopard cat was found when even he couldn’t open his eyes
For 3 days, the informant tried to feed him but, that wasn’t easy, and the informant was worried about many things so, he contacted us to take him with us
Easily picked up
The weight of 2 weeks old baby leopard cat is
"It’s about 320g"
which means..
he needs to be under maximum care
(milk time)
(As he’s too young) He can’t swallow well
If the formula milk flows into the windpipe
it could lead to breathing problems so
it’s important to manage the right amount to feed him, considering how much he can swallow
Even tiny details
need delicate managing
(Tap Tap)
Production crew: Are you helping him with bowel movements?/ Yes
On its own, he cannot do anything
so he needs to be under care…but,
It’s very important to minimize this kind of concentrated and frequent care
It’s important to MINIMIZE...? concentrated care?!
Usually, leopard cats that are rescued this young
don’t cry at humans
but, when this one arrived here, he was already…
it didn’t seem like he was wary of humans
Not wary of humans
this baby leopard cat thinks a finger is mom’s breast
There was a problem with how the initial informant took care of him
Upon rescue, he couldn’t even open his eyes
After feeding him and taking care of him, he opened his eyes and he could listen. In that process…
if the leopard cat receives stimuli that conveys positive image of humans
consequently, it may deteriorate its wildness
to the point where we can’t return the leopard cat to nature
We’ve judged that that is what this leopard cat is situated in
If it’s concluded that the cat has lost its wildness
this baby leopard cat will be living in an institution forever
is there any way to help this baby leopard cat?
What’s best is to put him in a group of leopard cats with similar maturity and manage him in a pack
The best option for him is to interact with other leopard cats in a group
but, what we can only do is...
wait until another baby leopard cat of similar maturity is rescued
Will his friends show up?
2 weeks later
Revisited Chungnam Wild Animal Rescue Center
Now, the baby leopard cat lives in a shelter
Bump --> Leopard cat
Moments later
Leopard cat peeks out
(It’s dangerous outside the covers…)
He grew up a lot
2 weeks ago VS Present
Not only in size~
(raw meat)
at 4 weeks old, he's already eating raw meat;;
Baby leopard cat is growing up fast
But…
Still… single?!
To find other leopard cats with wildness to put them together
I reached out to all wildlife rescue centers
and asked, “Is there a case where a baby leopard cat is rescued?”
but, there were no centers taking care of one
Due to that~
the baby leopard cat..
approaches people while reading the room;;
Go away!
(No damage)
(We’re not supposed to be friends)
Heyyyyy, what's wrong??
He has a positive memory of humans
so he doesn’t think that humans will hurt him, so he approaches us out of curiosity
Other leopard cats in his age would…
"GET LOST"
(Scary)
but, for the leaopard cat at the shelter
the biggest concern is turning into reality TwT
Is this how this story ends….?
(TRUE) We got a call from another wildlife center (STORY)
How old is the fella?
I think it’s less than a month old
A baby leopard cat of similar age as him!
What will happen to the baby leopard cat losing its wildness?
To be continued in part 2...