Her floppy, oversized paws
padding silently along, Fierca pranced around the ZooMontana education center
on a leash, up onto a table and sitting on command, before her handler gave her
a small chunk of beef as a reward.
"A lot of people think
you can't train a cat, but you can," said handler Melanie Richard.
"She'll be an important ambassador for us."
Officials hope that as the
zoo's newest addition, Fierca, a 1-year-old Canada lynx who behaves better than
some domesticated dogs, will be as much of a hit with the public as she is with
the staff.
With those big paws, small
tufts of hair coming out of the tops of her ears and a playful, curious nature,
the 25-pound cat certainly passes the eyeball test for that.
"This is one of the most
relaxed cats I've ever seen," said Jeff Ewelt, the zoo's executive
director. "She's basically bombproof. I really think she'll be a visitor
favorite."
The addition of Fierca is a
boost for the zoo, which has lost several of its most popular animals since the
Association of Zoos and Aquariums pulled its accreditation in spring 2011.
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