ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — The Western North Carolina Nature Center has welcomed 19 babies, including two bobcat cubs, over the past six months.
Bobcats are typically only active at night, that’s why getting to see the twins playing at the nature center is so special.
Bobcats are the largest predator cat naturally occurring in the mountains
“We haven’t had bobcats here in a very long time — in about 20 years or so. To be able to see two bobcats that were born in the wild interact with each other at this age, it’s very playful,” nature center predator keeper Chesley Hollander said.
Bobcats naturally prey on small rodents that carry diseases and, because of that, they are critical to the mountain ecosystem.
This year, the nature center also welcomed red wolf and coyote pups and raccoon kits. It has also welcomed several new reptiles and amphibians.
In late April, the WNC Nature Center announced the birth of a large litter of critically endangered red wolf puppies. Six females (Babs, Bonnie, Ruby, Rufina, Sienna and Toto) and one male (Tony) have grown up in front of guests and visitors and are now almost indistinguishable in size from their parents, Gloria and Oak.
PUPDATE: AT 5 WEEKS OLD, RED WOLF PUPS AT WNC NATURE CENTER BECOMING MORE ACTIVE
On the heels of the red wolf births came coyote pups, Cal and Walker, who were also born in April and came to the center in late July from Izzie’s Pond Sanctuary in South Carolina.
Quickly becoming a guest-favorite, bobcat kitten Tufts joined the center in early August from the May Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Banner Elk and was named after Edgar Tufts, the founder of Lees-McRae College. The latest bobcat addition was Kohana in late November. She was found in the wild by the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources.
Raccoons Grace and Frankie came to the WNC Nature Center in late September from Appalachian Wildlife Refuge.
“When you visit and see our animals, it’s important to understand why they are here with us,” animal curator Erin Oldread said in a news release. “Sometimes, they were born under human care, like our red wolves. Other animals were permanently injured in the wild and need ongoing veterinary care. In the case of our new coyotes, bobcats and raccoons, they were found to be unreleasable by the sanctuaries who received them. Oftentimes, when you are rehabilitating a very young animal and feeding them from a bottle, they very quickly become dependent on and overly comfortable around humans. It can be harmful to them and humans if they were released back into the wild, so the WNC Nature Center is happy to give them a home.”
Sometimes, the center serves as a holding ground as animals develop and prepare to be released back into the wild. Appalachian Station, the nature center’s indoor exhibit for reptiles and amphibians, is housing two baby box turtles and two baby snapping turtles, which will be released in spring 2024.
Also joining the WNC Nature Center this year are adult animals, Suli the black vulture and Morticia the turkey vulture. Suli was born in the wild but came under human care after a wing injury. She came to the Nature Center in late March from the NC Aquarium at Pine Knolls Shores. Morticia arrived from Hershey Park Zoo/Zoo America in October and joined the habitat next to Buzz, the longest-living resident at the Nature Center at 33 years, in December.
The WNC Nature Center tends to have fewer visitors during colder weather, but the animals who call it home are generally more active during this time of year.
Check out the WNC Nature Center’s holiday gift guide to see how you can support the animals at the Nature Center home, including symbolic adoptions and purchasing items from the Animal Wishlist and Holiday Giving Tree.