Good morning everyone and welcome to the middle of another week. I'm never sure whether I'm nearer to the end of the week, or just a little further away from Monday, if that makes any sense, which it probably doesn't. Either way, it's Wednesday and on Wednesday, we do like to give you a little something to celebrate, or at the very least, ponder upon and this week is no exception.
I have to say, this Wednesday is very spoilt with not one, but four things to celebrate. You could have had Coast Guard Day (very apt for the summer break), Single Working Women's Day or (and I was very tempted by this one) Assistance Dog Day. It wasn't an easy decision to make, but in the end I settled for the fourth option, which I think you'll love.
So, if we're not celebrating, dogs, coastguards or single women in the workplace, what are we celebrating?
Well today, Wednesday 4th August, we are celebrating...
International Clouded Leopard Day
I opted for this topic, because the plight of endangered animals is important, but also, I am a Kent girl, born and bred and the two organisers of this day are carnivore keepers at Howlett's Wild Animal Park in Kent; a place I have visited many times over the years and somewhere which I know works very hard to breed animals and return them to their native environment. To learn more about their conservation work please click here.
Now, I am not a clouded leopard expert, in fact my knowledge thus far extends to knowing they belong to the feline family, have very sharp teeth and as cute as they may be as kittens, I wouldn't fancy sharing my home with a full grown one. I'm also not sure that our little orange dog wouldn't end up being a snack for one.
Even though I can't wow you with a barrage of Cloud Leopard facts, I can tell you that this is a 'vulnerable' species, so the work being done to protect them is crucial. We have done so much to destroy not just the environment of our wild animals, but we have hunted many to the brink of extinction. So whilst this little cat is not yet endangered, the work being done by the people behind International Cloud Leopard Day is crucial to preventing that from happening. I would urge you to follow the previous link and take a look at their site yourself and learn just how much we still have to learn about this beautiful, shy cat.
If you fancy seeing some close up (or as close as is possible to get) and if you happen to be in Kent as a resident or visitor, you can find 15 of them at Howletts. If you are on holiday in my home county and looking for somewhere to go, this would be my number one recommendation, just be prepared to do a fair bit of walking.
Fancy adopting a Clouded Leopard for yourself, or for an animal crazy friend or family member? You can do so here:
I hope you've found this wild animal as endearing as I have, and I hope it's brightened up your Wednesday just a little bit.
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