Tuesday 23 August 2022

This is incorrect: "Cute baby bobcat rescued from dog attack in Indonesia"

There is a story and video currently doing the rounds on the Internet, on the news media websites. And the title is that a cute baby bobcat has been rescued from a dog attack in Indonesia. The problem is that there are no bobcats in Indonesia. The picture is of an Asiatic leopard cat in my considered view. They are quite rare (and endangered) and this is the wild cat half of the Bengal cat which is a very popular domestic cat.

The authorities in Indonesia are describing this small cat as a Bobcat which is entirely incorrect. This is an Asian leopard cat
The authorities in Indonesia are describing this small cat as a bobcat which is entirely incorrect. This is an Asian leopard cat.

But the Asiatic leopard cat is much less pliable and amenable to being domesticated them a bobcat. Not that you would normally domestic at a bobcat either. But judging by the video the Indonesians who found this leopard cat are treating it as a pet. 

That is not going to work out sooner or later as the kitten or cub grows up a bit and becomes more independent and manifestly aggressive. The story behind this young Asian leopard cat is that dogs killed the mother and her/his sibling. The caption says that "the baby lynx luckily managed to survive."

This is not a lynx. This is an Asian leopard cat. You do not find lynx in Indonesia. They bobcat and lynx are native to North America. They say that this Asian leopard cat was found in the Agam district, West Sumatra province, Indonesia. The villager who had the cat said:

“I was gardening, saw some stray dogs and hunting dogs who were surrounding the mother and the two baby bobcats. Unfortunately, the mother and the other baby died"

Apparently, it is the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) who decided that the cat was a bobcat. They are entirely incorrect and I am absolutely certain of it. They say the animal is protected and I hope therefore that it is released into the wild when adult and able to fend for itself. 

Although I suspect that life for an Asiatic leopard cat in Indonesia is pretty hazardous with a high chance of being killed somehow or other.

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