By Carie Broecker
T
he video shows a beautiful black panther in the snow in the woods of Siberia. She crouches, her eyes narrow, her hind end shifts from side to side. Anyone who has ever had a house cat or watched a National Geographic special about big cats recognizes the body language. This cat is about to pounce on her prey.
Along comes a big, happy-go-lucky Rottweiler. He is running and playing and enjoying the snow. The cat leaps, landing on his back. Oh no! The poor Rottie! They tumble in the snow together, rolling over several times, and then the panther goes in for a bite. This turns out to just be a gentle play bite and a few tender nibbles on the Rottie’s ears. Soon they are preening together and engaging in obvious play. How can this be? How did these two become such good friends, so playful and trusting of one another? Flashback to early 2020. While the rest of the world was coping with the beginnings of the COVID-19 pandemic, a panther gave birth to a litter of cubs in a Siberian zoo. At some point in the first week of caring for her kits, the mama flung one of the babies out of the den. Presumably, this was the runt of the litter and mama was just doing what nature does. She was conserving her milk for those most fit to survive.
20 | coastalcaninemag.com | Winter 2022
