FEATHERS flew and crowds cheered as Twycross Zoo held its first ever “carcass feed”. The zoo pulled the stunt on Saturday as part of an awareness raising event for the critically endangered species, the Amur leopard. Three whole, unplucked chickens were lowered into the enclosure of Davidoff, the zoo’s five-year-old Amur leopard, who had to leap for his lunch while visitors looked on entranced. Zoo keepers usually hide Davidoff’s food in various areas around his cage but say the exercise provided stimulation and “enrichment” for him. Keeper Craig Lymn strung the birds up in Davidoff’s cage and slowly winched the feathery display up as high as it would go. When Davidoff entered the enclosure he wasn’t able to see the food at first but was attracted to it by smell. Visitors then watched in amazement as the leopard pawed the birds, showering himself in feathers, before finally leaping to land his lunch. The Amur leopard is the most critically endangered big cat in the world, with only 35 creatures left in the wild. Twycross is seeking for a mate for Davidoff, hoping that his cubs’ cubs could one day be released into the wilderness of far east Russia.
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