MY WILDERNESS WILDCATS

by Mike Tomkies ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 14, 1978

Tomkies, who lives in the Scottish highlands wilderness with his amiable Alsatian Moobli, took in two baby wildcats for a while, and his precisionist report of their development will especially please more serious animal-book readers. From the start, Cleo and Patra demonstrated strong memory and scent powers and marked temperamental differences, resisting Tomkies' few friendly gestures but tolerating the unthreatening Moobli. Later an adult male named Sylvesturr was acquired, a London Zoo reject with a Jack Palance glare whom Tomkies admired for ""his cussed pre-historic magnificence""; alliances shifted with few negotiations and Sylvesturr settled in. Tomkies missed the cues but readers will pick up on the true attachments before the first litter surprises him, and they will remain involved as he responsibly gives the wildcats increasing independence and encourages survival skills before eventual release to the wilderness. An easily accessible account of a most inaccessible breed: Tomkies' eyewitness observations throw light on many suppositions about wildcats and the exotic incidentals (butter-fried honey fungus) add tone.

Pub Date: July 14, 1978

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1978

Categories: NONFICTION