The Wildlife Art Society International Members monthly visit for July was to the Cat Survival Trust in Codicote near Welwyn in Hertfordshire on Sunday July 9th.
The Cat Survival Trust is a charity run completely by volunteers who do an extraordinary amount of work to assist with the everyday running of the Trust as well as the vital role of conservation of these much endangered cats.
It was a lovely sunny day, almost too hot for the cats to do anything other than sleep or hide in their dens. It was an interesting day and I did get some really great reference photos for future paintings. I was intrigued to discover that not only did they have some lovely big cats, but also a small group of Ring Tailed Lemurs, some Racoon Dogs, 2 species of Owls and a Harris Hawk.
The afternoon was cooler and the Pumas, Amur Leopards and Jaguar all put in an appearance. The Snow Leopards were not so bothered by the heat that they felt the need to hide. Nor did the Caracals, Servals or Northern Lynx. All were happy to put on a display and be photographed but not still enough to sketch.
Pictured below are the Racoon Dog Pups, the Spotted Eagle Owl and European Wildcat
All in all a very enjoyable day out.
