 Thunder came to Wildworks in spring 2004 at seven weeks of age from an animal facility in the eastern United States. For such a little animal, the first thing we noticed was the size of his feet. We thought of naming him Big Foot, but he was soon “thundering” all around the house and was such a tough little guy that we named him Thunder. Although small in size, bobcats growl and snarl so deeply and fiercely that their vocalizations might be mistaken for those of a much larger cat, such as a mountain lion. Thunder has always had a fierce playfulness about him, and as a kitten he wasn’t afraid to take on our coyote pups, feather dusters, bare feet, or anything else that might look like prey to a little wild hunter. The only animal that could stand up to fierce little Thunder was Hopi, our Australian shepherd dog. They have remained fast friends, and she spends time in Thunder’s enclosure where they play and nap together. But when it’s feeding time, Hopi is the boss and Thunder, the big tough bobcat, has to wait his turn until dinner arrives.
|
