Animal Of The Month
This story appears as an on-going series in the "Gilroy Dispatch", "Morgan Hill Times" and "Hollister Freelance".
July 2016: Bobcat
By Colleen Grzan
werc@werc-ca.org
July 2016: Bobcat
By Colleen Grzan
werc@werc-ca.org
"Gato"
In June, a construction crew working near Saratoga/Los Gatos Road found a kitten wandering all alone and brought it to San Jose Animal Services. Thinking it was a little orphaned tabby, it spent several hours in the kitten room before someone realized he was not a domestic kitty but a wild bobcat! SJAS immediately transferred it to the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley. Since the rescuer said a mother cat had been seen around the area, WCSV attempted several times to reunite mother and baby, but was not successful.
WCSV cared for the 5-week-old, 560-gram kitten for three weeks, as it needed special feeding techniques since it refused a bottle and was not yet able to eat solid foods. After two weeks, the kitten was finally weaned and began eating small rodents and quail. The bobcat, serendipitously named “Gato” after the location he was found, was ready to transfer to the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center in Morgan Hill to undergo WERC’s intensive bobcat rehabilitation.
Twenty-two years ago, WERC pioneered techniques in raising single bobcats for release without human contact using birds-of-prey anti-imprinting techniques, to make themselves as unlike a human as humanly possible. In order to ensure bobcat kittens keep their natural instincts and do not become habituated, they are raised and cared for by “foster” mothers who dress in full-body, heavily scented costume, work in complete silence and simulate bobcat behavior until the bobcats develop the skills required to survive in the wild. Visual, behavioral, olfactory, and auditory disguises are necessary to conceal ourselves from the bobcat’s keen senses. In order to reinforce the bobcat’s natural hunting instincts and provide exercise and mental stimulation, the surrogate engages the bobcat in “games” such as chasing a toy mouse on a string, pouncing on a stuffed animal, and stalking a leafy branch or turkey feather. The bobcat is not to see any human under positive circumstances. The method has proven successful with more than 40 bobcats over the years and WERC has been internationally recognized for its bobcat kitten protocols.
Gato was brought to Dr. Suzanne Colbert (Princevalle Pet Hospital, Gilroy) for an examination, blood tests, and feline vaccinations on July 28. A visit to the veterinarian is an example of negative reinforcement, from which a bobcat will associate humans with an unpleasant experience, thus teaching the bobcat to avoid humans once it’s released. Afterward, Gato transferred from the “nursery” to WERC’s outdoor bobcat enclosure, where he has lots of room to run and jump and act like the wildcat he is. He will build up his strength, hone his hunting abilities, and become acclimatized to weather conditions. He will be visited daily by his surrogate mom, who will continue to bring him food and “play” with him.
Gato will remain at WERC until late Autumn when he is at least six months old. That is the age when bobcats in the wild begin to leave their mother and seek their own territory. After being certified healthy, he will be returned to an appropriate area near where he was found—a habitat where there is a plentiful source of natural food, such as field rodents and wild rabbits and access to water such as rivers, creeks, lakes, or ponds, especially important during droughts. He will once again be healthy, wild, and free.
WCSV cared for the 5-week-old, 560-gram kitten for three weeks, as it needed special feeding techniques since it refused a bottle and was not yet able to eat solid foods. After two weeks, the kitten was finally weaned and began eating small rodents and quail. The bobcat, serendipitously named “Gato” after the location he was found, was ready to transfer to the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center in Morgan Hill to undergo WERC’s intensive bobcat rehabilitation.
Twenty-two years ago, WERC pioneered techniques in raising single bobcats for release without human contact using birds-of-prey anti-imprinting techniques, to make themselves as unlike a human as humanly possible. In order to ensure bobcat kittens keep their natural instincts and do not become habituated, they are raised and cared for by “foster” mothers who dress in full-body, heavily scented costume, work in complete silence and simulate bobcat behavior until the bobcats develop the skills required to survive in the wild. Visual, behavioral, olfactory, and auditory disguises are necessary to conceal ourselves from the bobcat’s keen senses. In order to reinforce the bobcat’s natural hunting instincts and provide exercise and mental stimulation, the surrogate engages the bobcat in “games” such as chasing a toy mouse on a string, pouncing on a stuffed animal, and stalking a leafy branch or turkey feather. The bobcat is not to see any human under positive circumstances. The method has proven successful with more than 40 bobcats over the years and WERC has been internationally recognized for its bobcat kitten protocols.
Gato was brought to Dr. Suzanne Colbert (Princevalle Pet Hospital, Gilroy) for an examination, blood tests, and feline vaccinations on July 28. A visit to the veterinarian is an example of negative reinforcement, from which a bobcat will associate humans with an unpleasant experience, thus teaching the bobcat to avoid humans once it’s released. Afterward, Gato transferred from the “nursery” to WERC’s outdoor bobcat enclosure, where he has lots of room to run and jump and act like the wildcat he is. He will build up his strength, hone his hunting abilities, and become acclimatized to weather conditions. He will be visited daily by his surrogate mom, who will continue to bring him food and “play” with him.
Gato will remain at WERC until late Autumn when he is at least six months old. That is the age when bobcats in the wild begin to leave their mother and seek their own territory. After being certified healthy, he will be returned to an appropriate area near where he was found—a habitat where there is a plentiful source of natural food, such as field rodents and wild rabbits and access to water such as rivers, creeks, lakes, or ponds, especially important during droughts. He will once again be healthy, wild, and free.