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Posted by bengkulubengals on February 28, 2003 at 18:42:56:
If you are reading this forum you probably like the look and nature of wild felines. The bengal was created by Jean Mill's of California as a conservation effort. Her hopes were to create a domestic cat with the look of a small spotted jungle feline to satisfy the pet needs of those of us who want an exotic pet cat. She had hoped that less leopard cats, ocelots and margays would be imported into the U.S. and Europe if people could own a domestic that was close to the same look. She also hoped that women would not be so inclined to wear cat fur coats if they could have a pet that looked just like that coat.
I am a bengal lover/breeder because I love the look and personality of wild felines. As a bengal breeder I feel I must do all I can to help conserve the remaining populations of wild felines (in fact, I have decided to go back to school (biology/zoology) in hopes of becoming a felid field researcher.) I also donate a portion of each kitten sale to various felid or habitat conservation programs. I know a few other bengal breeders who are doing their part too.
I am writing this post because it is the opinion of many professional zoologist and large organizations (like AZA) that bengal breeders are in fact harming the wild populations of wild felines and destroying the pure genes of captive leopard cats. Those opinions have obviously not been well thought out however. I won't go to deep into why they are wrong (I could write a book on the subject.) I will only say that (1)No bengal no matter how wild they may look could ever be mistaken for a pure leopard cat by a professional with a trained eye. (2) The same captive leopard cat male used to produced F1 bengals could also be used to produce pure leopard cats. Some seem to think once you breed a leopard cat to domestic you have wasted his genes....hey, leopard cats have plenty of sperm to go around, sperm used to create F1 hybrids in no way effects wild leopard cats.(3)Even if a bengal was released into wild Asia and bred with a wild leopard cat those genes could not enter into the wild gene pool. It is well known that the first three generations of male leopard cat hybrids are sterile, so, this line would almost certainly very quickly die out. It is also known that wild leopard cats sometimes will breed with feral domestic cats. I could go on and on but I hope you get the idea...bengals and bengal breeders in no way negatively effect wild or captive populations of leopard cats.
"What can I do to help wild felines" you may say. Start by learning a little about CAT
http://www.felidae.org/PROJECTS/Thai_Cats/thai_cats.htm
CAT is a university and privately funded felid research group doing wonderful things to increase our knowledge of wild felines.
Mark Dwight
-BENGKULU BENGALS