After celebrating the birth of two kits, Dartmoor Zoo’s Carpathian Lynx enclosure is back on-show to the public.
Mark Saturday 20th July in your calendars.
After a successful breeding match between Carpathian Lynx pair Emily and Flaviu, 2 kits were confirmed on Wednesday 29th May via squeaks accompanying the mother in their cubbing den and subsequent sightings as the kits began to explore their habitat.
Kits are born blind and with their ears folded, heavily relying upon their parents until they begin to explore their environments after around a month. During this time, to ensure both parents and kits alike were calm and adjusting, guests were asked to exercise caution around their enclosure to ensure minimal disruption.
Regular welfare checks were conducted, where it was confirmed both Emily and Flaviu were in good spirits, calm and adjusting well to parenthood, with Flaviu showing positive signs of protection and attentiveness towards Emily and their litter.
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After 8 weeks, Dartmoor Zoo are pleased to say that the kits are doing incredibly well, seemingly both strong and happy as they’re exploring more day by day. With this in mind, the very exciting decision has been made for barriers to be removed as of Saturday 20th July, enabling guests to visit Dartmoor Zoo and witness this beautiful family of 4 in person. Guests will continue to be advised to remain calm around the enclosure whilst the kits are still developing.
CEO David Gibson commented:
“Now that our pair of Lynx kittens are 8 weeks old the riskiest period of their upbringing has passed. Emily and Flaviu are proving to be excellent parents and both kittens are thriving. It’s beautiful to watch them explore their surroundings as they become more and more inquisitive.
Not only is their birth important for Dartmoor Zoo but it is crucial for the future survival of the species. Thankfully wild populations of Eurasian Lynx are recovering but this would not have been possible without the conservation breeding efforts of Zoos.”
Emily and Flaviu are Carpathian Lynx, a subspecies of Eurasian Lynx, the largest of all 4 species. The majority of this species can be found in Romania, Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine, whilst the population in Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria is scattered.
With a population of around 2100 – 2400, breeding and reintroduction programmes within zoos are essential to stabilising and subsequently increasing these numbers, so to announce that our breeding match has been successful is a great achievement.
To find out more about Dartmoor Zoo visit www.dartmoorzoo.org.uk
