A rare wildcat kitten born at Shaldon Wildlife Trust this summer is making good progress – and ‘working on her growl’.

The kitten was born to the Trust’s pair of Margays, Harley and Lucia, at the end of July, and has just passed her first veterinary health check with no problems at all.

Announcing the new arrival, Shaldon Wildlife Trust’s director Zak Showell said he and the team are ‘thrilled’.

He said: “This is Harley and Lucia’s fifth kitten together and Lucia is a very experienced mother.

“Margay kittens somewhat follow the development of domestic cats, in that the kitten is born with its eyes closed and it's not until 30 days that they start to walk around.

“At two months of age they're growing in confidence but still stay very close to mum.

“This kitten in particular is quite feisty and is already working on her growl.”

The 'feisty' Margay kitten with a member of staff at Shaldon Wildlife Trust
The 'feisty' Margay kitten with a member of staff at Shaldon Wildlife Trust (Shaldon Wildlife Trust)

The feisty little feline will stay at Shaldon Wildlife Trust for 12 to 18 months before moving on to another zoo.

Zak explained that Harley and Lucia’s excellent parenting has made them vital contributors to the ‘ex-situ’ programme, which maintains genetically diverse populations of threatened species.

The programme, run by the European Associaiton of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), places zoos’ young animals so that there are as many unrelated pairs living together as possible.

Zak said: “Our previous Margay kittens live across Europe. One that was bred here in 2020, which now lives in Berlin Zoo, had a kitten of its own earlier this year.”

Margay wildcats originate from the tropical and sub-tropical forests of Central and South America, and are sometimes described as ‘the world’s most acrobatic cats’. They can walk along horizontal branches upside down, and descend vertical tree trunks head first. Unusually, their hind ankles can rotate 180 degrees, enabling them to hang from branches from just one foot.