They are beautiful, agile, and extremely intelligent. Geoffroy’s cats, male and female, from the Silesian Zoological Garden, adopted in May this year by Pajmon CPT sp.z o.o. headquartered in Rybnik. The company pays for their maintenance and food each month. What is a typical day like for a pair of Geoffroy’s cats (Leopardus geoffroyi), also known as Argentinian cats?
Geoffroy’s cats are friends with armadillos
As it turns out, our Geoffroy’s cats from the Silesian Zoo like to spend time lazily until noon. They are big sleepyheads. They only become active in the late afternoon, at evening hours and at night. Jumps, chases, hiding in various nooks and crannies are what they like most. They eagerly hide from the prying eyes in hollowed-out trunks and show their skills by running through various structures and wooden obstacles that were made here especially for them. They happily climb trees, able to hang from branches, holding onto the boughs with their hind legs.
They do not like open spaces. They need various hiding places in their environment. And so, they have a special room resembling a shack, lined with excelsior with one transparent wall. They eagerly lie down and sleep there. Thanks to this, it is quite easy for their keepers to locate them, and for visitors in the Silesian Zoo to see them.
The Geoffroy’s cats are a pair of a 5-year-old male and a 4-year-old female Prisca. The male was born in one of the German zoos, where he was named Messi – in the Silesian Zoo he reacts to the name Adaś. Meanwhile, the female was born in one of the French zoos, and her caretakers from Chorzów call her Martynka. Until recently, a skunk, called Aggressor by the caretakers, temporarily stayed with Geoffroy’s cats. Our cats and skunk were not friends with each other. – That’s why the animals were separated from each other. There are now armadillos in the nearby aviary: father and son and a separate female. Now it can be said that Geoffroy’s cats live in symbiosis with armadillos. Each animal has an occupation, its own area and they do not get in the way – says Wojciech Bielatowicz, Head of the Section of monkeys and predatory mammals from the Silesian Zoological Garden.
Geoffroy’s cats are natural-born predators
So far, it is not known when the pair of Geoffroy’s cats will have offspring.
The male is more sociable, and the female is secretive, “playing hard to get” and needs more time to adjust to the new home. She has been living in the Silesian Zoo for over 2 years, and the male has been living for almost 5 years.
Admittedly, Geoffroy’s cats are real gourmets. The basis of their diet is small beef with little fat, as well as chicks and mice.
Let us remind you that Geoffroy’s cats resemble our moggy cats. They are born predators. They do not allow their caregivers to come even one step. The animals measure approx. 70 centimeters, plus a 30 cm long tail. They weigh between 2 and 5 kilograms. Their fur is decorated with characteristic spots, which are sometimes arranged in stripes.
Geoffroy’s cats come from South America. They live in the Bolivian and Argentinian Andes, the southern part of Paraguay and Brazil, the western part of Uruguay and Chile. We can encounter them in the steppes and in mountainous, forested areas, wherever they can hide. They are found at different altitudes, from sea level to even 3800 m above sea level.
In the wild, they can live up to 15 years, and in zoos – up to 20 years.
Soon, the aviary of Geoffroy’s cats will be decorated with a sign informing about who adopted them. They are employees of Pajmon CPT. Soon we will also get to know new names for our cats (chosen by our fans on social media).
ATTENTION competition! On Friday, June 18 this year there will be tickets to the Silesian Zoo to win. Stay with us! Check out our blog, Facebook and LinkedIN.
See also: https://cpt.pajmon.com.pl/2021/05/21/bajka-petro-i-niemnogranatowy-lanos-czesc-1-i-czesc-2-i-czesc-3/
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