Mondovi, a male bobcat, arrived at The Wildcat Sanctuary in 2018. He wasn’t even a year old yet.
We’d been called to rescue him when he was found during an unrelated police seizure out of state. This little 10-month-old bobcat, originally named Lynxie, made headlines across the country. (Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this page for news coverage links.)
But what the news didn’t focus on is the story behind the story. The one that fuels the captive wildlife crisis – the breeder.
The purchaser often loses custody of the animal, but the breeder is not prosecuted and continues selling wild animals as a commodity for profit. It has to stop.
This bobcat kitten was advertised in an obscure ad in Craigslist and sold to the owner on the side of the highway for a hefty price. It’s common practice in the buying, breeding and trafficking of illegal wildlife.
Life at the Sanctuary
This little kitten has already been through so much. We felt he deserved a strong name, so we renamed him Mondovi.
He arrived happy and healthy – signs that he was well cared for.
Mondovi quickly warmed up to his caretakers. He’s a brave little boy who enjoys playing in the snow, climbing his platforms and curling up with his stuffed toy.
We’d recently taken in a very shy, scared Eurasian lynx named Aria. She’d also been bought as a “pet” and her owners realized captivity was not right for her. They surrendered her and she was still adjusting to this new life.
We felt, since they were both very young, perhaps a merger might be possible? Mondovi quickly brought Aria out of her shell. Today, they both run and play with abandon.
We feel blessed to provide Mondovi and his new friend Aria with a forever home where they know dignity, compassion and companionship of their own kind.
Live video of Mondovi’s rescue:
Welcome Mondovi to his forever home at The Wildcat Sanctuary!
Tammy and Elyse are on the road back to the sanctuary with our newest resident. This is Mondovi. Authorities found him while exercising an unrelated search warrant. The judge and owner agreed to his surrender to an accredited sanctuary.We're so thankful this little 10 month old bobcat will be able to know compassion and love the rest of his days with us.He'll have an intake exam when he arrives at TWS and will settle in for a few days to get comfortable with his new home.Your donations right now are being doubled at bit.ly/MiracleMatchTWS and your help is what makes all this possible for him. Mondovi thanks you ?Stay tuned later for more moments with Mondovi……
Posted by Wildcat Sanctuary on Friday, March 23, 2018
How You Can Help
Rescuing young wild cats is so expensive since it means 20+ years of specialized care. That’s why our sponsorship program is such a huge help! Would you consider being Mondovi’s sponsor parent?
Or even a one time donation towards his care would help so much. It’s easy to do using the buttons you see at the top of this page.
Thank you for your compassionate support!
