The Mewspapers - MARCH 2018

A R C H 2 0 1 8 E D I T I O N W W W . T H E F L U F F L I S T . C O M . A U /
M
L O G S / M E W S P A P E R S
B
WORLD
WILDLIFE
WILDLIFE DAY
WORLD
UNDER THREAT"
"PREDATORS
INVOLVED
GET
LEARN,
UP,
SPEAK
ACT
T H E M E W S P A P E R S P A G E 1
T H E M E W S P A P E R S
L A T E S T M E W S F R O M A R O U N D T H E W O R L D
2018
DAY
This month
celebrates World
Wildlife Day on
March 3rd, this year
dedicated to Big Cats
World Wildlife Day was created on 20 December 2013, at its
68th session of the United Nations General Assembly
(UNGA). Celebrated every 3rd of March each year, which is
also the day of signature of the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES), UN World Wildlife Day celebrates and raises
awareness of the world’s wild animals and habitats The
event has become the most influential global annual event
dedicated to wildlife. This year 2018 will be celebrated under
the theme “Big cats: predators under threat".
Look for local events, organise a day out with the kids to talk
about big cats, entertain them with big cat colouring pages
(we will post them on our blog!) to open discussion.
If you're a teacher, use the theme as a part of your classes:
whether it be literature or counting big cats, there is always
a way to create conversation around conservation!
How will you make a mark?
The UN website hosts an interactive page full of facts to get
to learn about their plight and how humans can play a part
in their future.
Use social media to do more than post a selfie (or two, or
three... or twenty); spread the word by taking a photo with
the action cards they provide on their website and say
something about the day. Remember to use:
#WorldWildlifeDay, #BigCats, #PredatorsUnderThreat,
#WWD2018, #DoOneThingToday, #iProtectBigCats!
At The FluffList, we couldn't help but offer to take part, and
have been granted permission to screen some of the films
that made it into the 16 finalists of the International Big Cats
Film Festival, co-hosted by the Jackson Hole WILD Film
Festival and CITES. We are still hunting for a Sydney based
venue - if you have a cafe, a yoga studio or simply a place to
co-host with us, please please please drop us a line! If you
offer cat services or simply love small and big cats,
this could be a fantastic opportunity for us to partner up for
a greater cause. Get in touch!

CAT BOOK OF THE
BIG
MONTH:
T H E M E W S P A P E R S P A G E 2
only wild cats that can actually roar.
SPECIAL EVENTS:
TO DO IN SYDNEY
THINGS
One of our favourite NSW zoo,
the Canberra National Zoo & Aquarium
will be raising awareness of big cat
conservation and education with
keeper talks, kids activities and special
tours.
Personally, our meowmy loves the NZA.
Now one of the largest privately owned
zoos in Australia, it feels more like a
reserve, housing a multitude of rescued
cats and animals with a mission to
educate visitors on how they can
contribute to protecting wildlife. One
way they do this is via their program
"Animal Encounters". The monies raised
support conservation initiatives and
charities. Last year alone, over
AU$100,000 was donated to these
funds. Meowmy contributed to "Meet a
cheetah", one of her dreams. This photo
says it all:
W H A T M A K E S A R O A R ?
According to BBC Wildlife writer
Stephen Mills, in these species, the
epihyal bone, part of the voice box, is
replaced by a ligament. This can be
stretched, creating a larger soundproducing
passage and thus a wider
range of pitch. The more the ligament
extends, the lower the sound generated
when air passes across the vocal cords.
In addition, the cords are large,
unbroken and fleshy, which produces
deeper sounds.
In contrast, in the 'small' cats, the bones
of the voice box form a fixed structure,
ON WORLD WILDLIFE DAY, I
CALL ON PEOPLE AROUND THE
WORLD TO HELP RAISE
AWARENESS AND TO TAKE
PERSONAL ACTION TO HELP
ENSURE THE SURVIVAL OF THE
TIGERS FOREVER
We thought a book that fitted the World
Wildlife Day theme was in order, and we
settled for this book on the endangered
tigers for its striking photos by National
Geographic photographer Steve Winter.
Moreover because it was put together
with the help of the organisation we
support, Panthera, the world’s largest
nonprofit dedicated to saving big cats,
and its Tigers Initiative.
E: info@nationalzoo.com.au
P: 02 6287 8400
Location: 999 Lady Denman Drive,
Weston 2611, ACT, Australia
Not in Australia? There are plenty of
events all around the world. Visit
www.wildlifeday.org/content/events
to find events near you.
CAT FLUFF_FACTS:
“Big cats” is a term commonly used to
describe lions, tigers, leopards and
jaguars - all of which belong to the
genus Panthera. Together, they are the
ONLY 4 BIG CATS ROAR
WORLD’S BIG CATS AND ALL ITS
PRECIOUS AND FRAGILE
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY.
— UN SECRETARY-GENERAL
ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
with divided vocal cords that vibrate
with both in and out breaths. While this
design enables these cats to purr
continuously (unlike their big cousins),
it limits the range of other sounds and
prevents them from being able to roar.
Even large species, such as pumas and
cheetahs, whose voice boxes are
proportionately big, possess small-cat
anatomy.
Interestingly, the snow leopard - also a
member of Panthera - cannot roar. Its
vocal cords lack an all-important layer
of fatty, elasticated tissue, which, in
other big cats, gives the vocalisations an
uneven rumble that emerges as a roar.
Some scientists therefore argue that
the snow leopard deserves its own
genus: uncia.
The expanded definition of Big Cats
includes wild cats such as the cheetah,
snow leopard, puma, clouded leopard
and Sunda clouded leopard. On the
occasion of World Wildlife Day, the
term is used to talk about all of these
cats, as the majority of wild cat species
around the world are endangered and
need our attention.
Source: Discover Wildlife Magazine
A decade of stunning images by Winter
bring to life the stories of tigers as
Winter experienced them through his
works. From Myanmar’s leech-infested
jungles in search of this majestic cat;
into the forbidden realm of poachers
in Sumatra; to witnessing the endearing
relationship between a mother and her
cub, it is through these images and
Guynup's eloquent prose that the plight
of the tiger is brought to you. We
guarantee it will not leave you
unmoved, and at best, believe it will
help our readers understand the
importance of fighting to save them.
CAT CONSERVATION:
At The FluffList, we talk a lot about how
we support big cat conservation. We do
this through supporting Panthera. As
this month is dedicated to Big Cats, we
thought we'd let you in on what these
guys do.
PANTHERA IN ACTION
Panthera's Mission: Ensure a future for
wild cats and the vast landscapes on
which they depend.
Panthera's Vision: A world where wild
cats thrive in healthy natural and
developed landscapes that sustain
people and biodiversity.
In their own words:
Panthera is the only organization in the
world that is devoted exclusively to the

T H E M E W S P A P E R S P A G E 3
conservation of the world’s 40 wild cat
species and their ecosystems.
Utilizing the expertise of the world’s
premier cat biologists, Panthera
develops and implements global
strategies for the most imperiled large
cats: tigers, lions, jaguars, snow
leopards, cheetahs, pumas, and
leopards.
Representing the most comprehensive
effort of its kind, Panthera partners
with local and international NGOs,
scientific institutions, local
communities, governments around the
globe, and citizens who want to help
ensure a future for wild cats.
Panthera’s grants program, the Small
Cat Action Fund (SCAF), additionally
supports conservation and research
initiatives on many of the smaller wild
cat species around the globe.
These are the reasons for which we
have chosen to annually donate to
Panthera. We believe in their work and
values and hope you do too.
LAST MONTH EXTRA:
NATIONAL CAT DAY
Japan celebrated the 30th National Cat
Day on February 22nd last month. The
date was officially chosen by the Japan
Pet Food Association because the
numerals, 2/22 are pronounced fairly
closely to the meow sound a cat makes
in Japan ("nyan nyan nyan" - try hearing
that when your cat next talks to you).
Across Japan, cat lovers (which we nonscientifically
estimate is 98% of the
population) across the island of
the rising sun shared photos of the their
favourite felines on social media, or
rather, everywhere.
But Neko No Hi (Cat Day) is also an
opportunity for major Japanese
companies to capture the hearts of catloving
potential customers (if not
forever, at least for a purrfect day of
sales)!
In this way, Sharp Corp., a major
Japanese electronics maker, temporarily
changed its company name to “Nyarp”
on its Twitter account. This trend was
observed across all industries! And with
good reason, if we believe the statistics
shared by the JapanPet Food
Association.
A T S A S T E A D Y
C
U S I N E S S ?
B
According to their annual survey, the
number of cat owners surpassed that of
dog owners in Japan last year for the
first time since the survey first began in
1994.
While the number of domestic dogs has
fallen for another consecutive year, cat
numbers remain almost unchanged.
According to the same survey, the
number of pet cats in Japan is estimated
at 9,526,000, while the number of dogs
fell to 8,920,000.
NEKO NO HI FILM:
CAT NATION
U R R F E C T D A Y T O
P
E L E A S E A F E L I N E F I L M
R
Filmmaker Tim Delmastro released his
latest feline documentary about
Japanese cats! Cat Nation: a film about
Japan's cray cat culture is what every
cat fan - yes you - needs to watch to
better understand the obsession the
Japanese have with cats, and how the
latter have shaped much of their
society.
We were lucky enough to catch Tim and
ask him a few questions, and even get a
discount to view the film! So make sure
you check out the blog's February posts
if you missed it. Fun fact: Tim
actually lives in Australia too! He loves
cats, "but probably not as much as my
wife!".
WE FILMED AT A COMPANY
OFFICE WHICH ALLOWED THEIR
STAFF TO BRING THEIR CATS TO
WORK. - TIM
HAPPY BIRTHDAY:
Our beautiful The FluffList C(at)EO
celebrated his 6th birthday on the 28th
of February. He was very spoilt with
cards, fan photos, treats and gifts from
his favourite calico sisters all the way in
Germany, Lilly and Nala. Meowmy
wasn't sure what was in the treat
"sticks" but Meeko has made it very
clear that we now need to keep them in
supply at the HQ.
TO OUR C(AT)EO MEEKO
He also showed off his MeowStar collar
in red with a maneki neko bell. The
unique collars protect wildlife by
alerting birds and small preys of the
cat's presence by the trill of the bell,
while the bling and bright bands make
the cats more visible. Birds rely on their
sight so the more visible the cat, the
more chances of survival for the birds.
The doubled up elastic make it safe for
outdoor wear while more resilient to
wear than a single layer elastic collar.
A N T Y O U R O W N
W
U S T O M C O L L A R ?
C
Order the MeowStar from our shop! We
have special birthday discounts too, so
make sure we know your fur-babies'
birth dates!
That's it from us, we hope you enjoyed
our March edition and hope you make
your mark on World Wildlife Day 2018.