Week 237 (7 - 13 March 2008)

Breakthrough in training Cathay

After having been in training for almost two weeks, Cathay finally started losing her fear for the maternity box. On Friday, when Cathay was put into the quarantine camp, an unfinished buffalo leg left by 327 was still in the box accompanied by the strong scent of 327. This made Cathay very excited. Even so, she still carefully sniffed around the outside and the inside of the box. Then she tried going into the box. But no matter how deep she was inside, she kept her back paws outside. She managed to get the buffalo leg in the end after some effort. The next couple of days, though she refused to put her back paws inside the box, she spent less and less time hesitating before going inside the box. .

The breakthrough finally came rather suddenly on Tuesday. It was raining. Cathay came to the gate of the quarantine camp excitedly. Three pieces of meat were put deep inside the maternity box. Without thinking, Cathay came inside the box and got her meat. This was the first time that she came all the way inside the box, including her back paws as well. After finishing the meat, she came back into the box again to check whether there was any meat left. She also sniffed around the inside of the box. Since then, Cathay stopped hesitating before coming inside the box. She would even check the inside of the box when there was no food there. Cathay lost her fear of the box in the end after two weeks of training.

This week, 327 was not so happy because every day he saw Cathay having meat to eat. On Friday, it was all a bit too much for him, because the scent he left on the buffalo leg and inside the box might help in training Cathay, his unfinished buffalo leg was left in the maternity box for Cathay. 327 chuffed at Cathay as soon as she came inside the quarantine camp. He looked so worried that Cathay would take the buffalo leg. Cathay ran to the food immediately without noticing that 327 was chuffing at her. When Cathay took the leg out from the maternity box, 327 began to pace very fast in the breeding centre while chuffing all the time. Cathay ignored him, and began to feed on the leg next to the gate of the 4 ha camp. 327 went back inside and sat on his bed. He might feel better if he didn't see Cathay feeding on his meat. But he kept breathing deeply and shaking his tail, which showed he was angry.

TigerWoods and Madonna were still too lazy to hunt again. Though Madonna sometimes looked around in the 40 ha camp, TigerWoods spent most of his time sitting in the 0.5 ha camp. It seemed as if he thought he would never go hungry if he stayed in the 0.5 ha camp. His wish came true when on Friday, the body of a blue wildebeest was put inside the 0.5 ha camp. It was so attractive that even Cathay came to the gate of the 0.5 ha camp, watching with saliva dripping, refusing to go into the quarantine camp for the whole night. The carcass kept TigerWoods and Madonna busy for the whole week. Every day, they slept next to the carcass and they only needed to turn around when they felt hungry. There was no water supply in the 0.5 ha camp, but it was not a problem for TigerWoods. Since it rained often this week, TigerWoods was seen drinking from the puddles formed on the ground.