The three kittens (though Tilden is a BIG kitten now) are finally united. Little Crystal, peeking out in the middle, spent several weeks by herself in a “nursery” where costumed volunteers came in daily to bring her food and play bobcat “games” with her. She played warily with “mom” but hid and growled if anyone came in as a human. Last week she was introduced to Morty, who at 16 weeks, is 2 weeks older than Crystal. 23-week-old Tilden was kept separate from the two little ones for a couple of days, and then the door between the enclosures was lifted. We watched on our monitor as they checked each other out and quickly began playing together, chasing around and running up and down the ramps.
As you can see in this picture, Tilden is very protective of the younger bobcats. A zoom lens is required to get a photo, as coming any closer would be dangerous. Much growling and snarling can be heard-a good sign that they will remain wild and avoid humans when they’re eventually released. At 5-1/2 months of age, Tilden is almost ready to return to the area of Tilden Park in Berkeley where he was rescued in April. In another few months, Morty will return to Monterey, and Crystal to Crystal Springs Reservoir near Belmont.
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