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This is from the Independent (click to check out); the cat’s whole name is “Duke Ellington Morris”.
From the short article (and a a picture). At 14, however, he must be retired!
A cat has actually been employed as the latest worker of a US airport to help soothe anxious leaflets.
Duke Ellington Morris, referred to as “Duke”, is the latest member of San Francisco International Airport’s “Wag Brigade”.
The appointment of the 14-year-old black and white cat was revealed by the airport’s Twitter account, with the caption: “Purrlease welcome our newest Wag Brigade member, Duke Ellington Morris!”
Underneath, an expert breeze of Duke using a small pilot’s hat and t-shirt collar was likewise shared.
The Wag Brigade program was very first introduced by the California airport in 2013, with the goal of utilizing animals to help sooth distressed visitors.
The Duke!
Purrlease welcome our latest Wag Brigade member, Duke Ellington Morris! 🐱 pic.twitter.com/FDSw1a55Ef
— San Francisco International Airport (SFO) ✈️ (@flySFO) June 8, 2023
More:
Initially the plan was restricted to dogs, however gradually it has actually been broadened to consist of other specifically experienced animals consisting of cats, bunnies, and even the “world’s first therapy pig”, LilLou.
Animals are picked for their personality and behaviour, and need to be accredited by San Francisco’s SPCA and have actually finished its Animal Assisted Therapy (ATT) program.
Before getting the call as much as use the unique “Pet Me” vest at San Francisco airport, Duke was at first rescued by the SPCA from a feral cat nest in 2010 while he was still a kitten.
He was embraced by a five-year-old woman and her mom, who had him accredited as a treatment animal.
On his Instagram account, run by his owners, Duke’s latest appointment was revealed with a post reading: “Happy is not the word… elated!”
Here’s Duke’s Instagram page and a photo of him with his staff. The caption for this one, obviously from the cat: “I picked her out as my guardian on November 1, 2010, when she was a sassy 5 year old. Best decision of my life.” Clearly this was composed by Duke:
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Here’s an excellent Kiffness video of a cat meowing, almost in English, about its isolation. An artist turns it into a plaintive tune: “Sometimes I’m alone.”
Here’s the initial video (click listed below or here to go to the plaintive cat).
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In this short article from Explore Cats, we get the response to the concern all ailurophiles have actually asked: “Can any species of cat climb down a tree head first?” We understand that a treed cat needs to climb up down in reverse due to the fact that its recurved claws will just provide it a grasp when it’s dealing with forwards (see this article for more description). But is that real of all cats types?
The response is no, and click the screenshot listed below to see why:
The method to do it is to develop the capability to turn your ankles 180°, so you can walk down head initially with your paws in reverse. By “rotating 180 degrees,” they indicate upside-down, as if you had the ability to walk on the tops of your feet.
From the short article:
. . .specific wild cats have actually the hypermobility required. Three wild cats are understood to be able to turn their rear ankles 180 degrees.
These arboreal cats have adapted to a life that is spent significantly in trees. Hypermobility offers these cats with the capability to move quickly up and down trees.
The capability to turn their ankles 180 degrees likewise provides these 3 types of felines the capability to climb up down trees by hanging on with their hind legs just in addition to the capability to hang from tree limbs with simply one rear paw.
Three recognized types of wild cats are understood to have actually progressed hypermobility: Margery, leopards, and marbled cats.
The Margay
The margay (Leopardus Wiedii) is thought about by numerous scientists to be the most adjusted to life in the trees. The margay is a little spotted cat that is native to Central and South America. Smaller than a house cat, the margay just weights 2.6 to 4 kg (5.7 to 8.8 pound).
Margays are discovered primarily in thick forests that vary from tropical evergreen forest to tropical dry forest and high cloud forest. The wild cat’s variety when extended as far north at Texas however is now dispersed from Mexico through Central America to Brazil and Paraguay.
In addition to ankles that have the ability to turn 180 degrees, margay cats have big paw pads that help them to grip tree bark. Nocturnal cats, the agility of margays helps them to hunt small primates and squirrels as well as amphibians, reptiles, birds and eggs.
A video:
And here’s Professor Ceiling Cat in fact holding a margay, which was quite tame and was citizen of a bar in Playas Del Coco, Costa Rica. The image is from August, 1974 when I was taking an Organization for Tropical Studies Course in Costa Rica, and it’s a picture of a 35mm slide. The cat bit my ring, and for several years later on, till the Turkish puzzle ring broke down, it had a damage from the margay’s tooth.
This is the only time in my life that I held a types of cat aside from a housecat.
The marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata) is a little wild cat native with a circulation from eastern Himalayas to Southeast Asia. Like the margay cat, the marbled cat is likewise adjusted to life in the trees and has the capability to turn its ankles 180 degrees (Kitchener et al., 2010). This lets the marbled cat descend trees head initially in addition to hold on to a branch with one hind leg just.
The marbled cat lives in forest as much as 2,500 m (8,200 feet) elevation. Similar in size to a domestic cat, the marbled cat weighs in between 2 and 5 kg (4.4 and 11.0 pound).
This is a brief video as the cat is evasive:
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Finally, the clouded leopard, possibly the most gorgeous of cats:
These arboreal cats (Neofelis nebulosa) reside in thick forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into southern China.
The biggest of the wild cats with hypermobility, clouded leopards weigh in between 11.5 and 23 kg (25 and 51 pound).
Notice the turned ankles in this tweet:
Not just do Clouded leopards have claws and paws particularly adjusted for complying with the shape of tree branches, however, they likewise have ankle joints that have the ability to turn totally in reverse. This makes them among the very best climbers in the cat family! pic.twitter.com/5TA2p5cRFn
— Doc 🐍🔜 Anthrocon (Dealer’s F10) (@DrWildlife) June 12, 2018
I discovered this video:
h/t: Su, Ginger K., Debra
