Meet Flerken, the Marvel–lous addition to a wildlife park near Boston

The team at Ark Wildlife Park and Rescue Sanctuary, in Stickney, have welcomed a new addition to the site – a rescued Savannah kitten.
Too wild for a home, not wild enough for a zoo - Flerken, now at Ark Wildlife Park and Rescue Sanctuary.Too wild for a home, not wild enough for a zoo - Flerken, now at Ark Wildlife Park and Rescue Sanctuary.
Too wild for a home, not wild enough for a zoo - Flerken, now at Ark Wildlife Park and Rescue Sanctuary.

After much debate, she has been named Flerken – inspired by the scene-stealing cat from the recent Marvel film Captain Marvel – or Fleur for short.

Her age is not known for certain, but she is thought to be about five to six months old.

Flerken was bought into the UK illegally and confiscated by Border Force.

Flerken in full.Flerken in full.
Flerken in full.

Her confiscation caused some potential problems with re-homing due to her breeding, as Jamie Mintram, of the Ark explained.

“Savannah cats are a man-made hybrid breed of cat,” he said. “In order to create the Savannah, an African wildcat species called a serval is mated to a domestic cat breed. The kittens produced from this first generation are termed F1s meaning they are 50 per cent wildcat and as such still classed as a dangerous wild animal in the same way a pure-bred serval is.

“Subsequent breedings where more domestic cat enters the bloodline and reduces the percentage of wildcat are classed as F2, F3, and so on. These cats are classed as domestic cats and can be re-homed as a normal domestic cat would be.

“The problem for Flerken was that as an F1 she couldn’t be re-homed as a domestic cat due to the high percentage of wildcat in her breeding, but unfortunately traditional zoos wouldn’t be interested in her as she’s not 100 per cent wildcat – so she was stuck in limbo between the two traditional options for re-homing a cat, too wild for a domestic environment but not wild enough for a zoo.

“At the Ark, however, we were more then happy to offer her a forever home as the Ark operates differently from a traditional zoo or wildlife park in that we don’t buy in or breed animals, we’re an exotic animal sanctuary with the vast majority of animals coming to us as rescues from the European pet trade, so Flerken was a perfect fit for what we do and she joins a number of unusual wildcat species that call the Ark home.”

The Spilsby branch of Sainsbury’s has sponsored Fleur’s new enclosure by fundraising for the Ark as part of the company’s 150-year anniversary events. The branch raised £500 in B&Q vouchers which will be used to materials for Flerken’s new bespoke home.

Jamie added: “The Ark always has new rescue projects in the pipeline and this is a perfect example of how local and national businesses can get involved and help us care for these animals. If any managers or business-owners would like to work with us please feel free to get in touch and we can make a real difference to the lives of these animals.”

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