Lynx kittens growing fast at Wild Place Project

Keepers at Wild Place Project have their hands full as their two youngest lynxes are getting bigger, and hungrier.

Image: Lynx family. Credit: keeper Zoe Greenhill

The kittens are now four months old and growing fast -- weighing around 5kg each and roughly the size of a large house cat.

It will be some time before they are as big as their parents Loka and Zone, or their two fully-grown siblings, Lox and Kinsey. But the pair waste no time in making sure their keepers know when they are hungry.

As well as still having milk from their mother, the twins are fed meat by keepers every day. It will be some time before they are fully grown but the kittens are becoming increasingly adventurous, leaving mum for short periods of time to explore their woodland home. 

Keepers believe they are both male and, later this week, a poll to name the pair will be held on the Wild Place Project’s Facebook page. The choices for their names are Bramble, Briar, Holt, Copse, Maple or Rowan. Visit https://www.facebook.com/wildplacebristol/ later this week to choose your favourite names.

Will Walker, Animal Manager at Wild Place Project, said: “The twins are doing incredibly well and are growing stronger by the week. Their mother, Loka, has done a fantastic job of caring for them. They are both bright-eyed and healthy and we are looking forward to inviting people to help us name them.”

The lynx family lives within the Bear Wood exhibit at Wild Place Project, alongside European brown bears, wolves and wolverines.

It is more than 1,000 years since lynxes became extinct in the UK. In the wild today, they are found in deciduous and mixed forests in mainland Europe, Russia, Central Asia and as far as the Arctic tundra. 

The lynx family at Bear Wood are playing their part in the breeding programme for this species.

Bear Wood, which is sponsored by Natracare, tells the story of the UK’s ancient woodland and the charismatic species that once inhabited it. Bear Wood also aims to inspire visitors to value and protect native woodland habitats and species.

Only two per cent of Britain’s ancient woodland has survived being cut down, and the habitat offers a vital home for species such as lesser-spotted woodpeckers, tawny owls and hedgehogs, which are becoming increasingly rare in the UK.

Bristol Zoological Society has a dedicated UK Conservation team that runs a variety of conservation programmes including monitoring and protecting native species including bats, badgers, birds, invertebrates, reptiles and amphibians.

Wild Place Project is also home to species from across the world, including giraffes, zebras, cheetahs, lemurs, meerkats, geladas, okapis, red-river hogs and elands.
It was recently named ‘Large Visitor Attraction of the Year 2020/21’ in the South West Tourism Excellence Awards.

Wild Place Project and Bristol Zoo Gardens are run by Bristol Zoological Society which is a conservation and education charity and relies on the generous support of the public not only to fund its important work at both zoos, but also its vital education and community outreach programme.

In March last year the Society launched the BZS Appeal to ensure the future of its work ‘saving wildlife together’ following the temporary closure of both its sites in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

As school groups can now be welcomed back, donations from the appeal fund will support the Education Bursary Fund to ensure schools and youth groups in disadvantaged areas are able to benefit from visiting Bristol Zoo Gardens and Wild Place Project.

To find out more, or to make a donation, visit https://bristolzoo.org.uk/bzsappeal