Quote:
Originally Posted by Christina Websell[_2_]
"I cannot see any reason why big cats that were probably released when it
became illegal to keep them without a license cannot survive in the depths
of the countryside, where they can get food and water and hardly ever be
seen.
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I can see very good reasons why they can't survive very well. I gave them in the other thread, but I'll repeat it for your benefit.
Large cats are predators, and need to be taught how to be successful predators in the wild by parental care. Released big cats come from a mix of captive-bred and animals caught in infancy, and have not had to look after themselves recently.
If you don't understand how serious this is for an animals survival chances, consider the case of bats. If you catch a bat and feed it, it becomes unsuitable to be returned to the wild, as after about a fortnight it becomes accustomed to being fed and can no longer survive in the wild.
Have you not seen the television programmes which show how marginal a large predatory cat's existence is, even those living on the game-filled plains of Africa and brought up to look after themselves?
It really is most implausible to think that previously captive large cats can fend for themselves for very long in the British countryside.