At a government wildlife rescue center in Thailand, dozens of lost and injured baby leopard cats are receiving a second chance at life in the wild. Annual admission of leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis) at the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation rescue center in Khon Kaen, in northeastern Thailand, have surged from an average of about 10 cats per year before to 2023 to as many as 65 now. The cats are being displaced by worsening habitat fragmentation, agricultural burning in sugarcane fields, and increased public use of a government wildlife hotline, reports contributor Ana Norman Bermudez for Mongabay. Between January and August this year, the facility admitted more than 60 kittens, more than half of them recovered from charred fields with burn injuries. Staff focus on stabilizing new arrivals by treating burns, infections, and nutritional deficiencies before moving them into specialized 24-square-meter (258-square-foot) rehabilitation enclosures. Mortality rates at the facility dropped to around 33% in 2026, from 60% in previous years, according to center officials. “Many of the cubs that didn’t survive were brought by people who tried to take care of them at home,” said Warisara Thomas, a researcher and veterinarian at the center, adding that keeping the wild cats at home is illegal. Being in homes also deprives the cubs of specialized care while exposing them to domestic animals that can transmit diseases. Before putting the cubs into behavioral rehabilitation, veterinarians conduct comprehensive health checks, testing the cats for feline immunodeficiency virus, parvovirus, and canine…This article was originally published on Mongabay
