A young leopard cat that had become separated from its mother has been returned to the wild after six months of rehabilitation and training, the Forestry Bureau said March 6.
In August 2012 the leopard cat—an endangered species of which about 1,000 are thought to be left in the wild in Taiwan—was handed in to officials at the Forestry Bureau’s Hoyanshan Forest Eco-education Center in the Huoyan Mountain Nature Reserve in Miaoli County. Although healthy, the young leopard cat had apparently become lost as a result of development in the area destroying its mountain habitat.
The feline was handed over to the Pingtung Rescue Center for Endangered Wild Animals at National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, where it was trained for re-entry to the wild.
According to a researcher at the center, the immature cat, about two months old when it arrived, had no fear of humans and was unable to catch prey.
After six months’ training the leopard cat learned to hide from approaching strangers and catch its usual diet of rodents, birds and lizards. It was deemed ready to be introduced to the wild, especially as it was eight months old, when leopard cats begin to establish their own territory.
After being released in the vicinity of where it was found, the feline will be tracked 24 hours a day using a wireless transmitter for at least a week to make sure it is surviving in the wild.
Another leopard cat caught in Zhuolan Township, Miaoli County, in December will also be released back to the wild if the first release proves a success. (SDH)