[CAT] Shakespeare, posing

[CAT] "South African president laughs off uproar over killing of Cecil the lion"

Geoffrey York of The Globe and Mail reported about how the Cecil the Lion scandal reverberates in South Africa.

With their $650-million hunting industry now jeopardized by a global uproar over the killing of Cecil the lion, South African politicians are staunchly defending the industry, but hunters themselves are calling for major reforms to salvage their battered image.

South African President Jacob Zuma laughed off the controversy on Tuesday, dismissing questions about whether the industry’s rules should be tightened after the furor over Cecil. “I think it’s just an incident,” he told journalists. “The hunter did not know Cecil was so popular. … I don’t think it’s a matter we can debate that much.”

Professional hunters, however, are increasingly worried about the damage to their reputation from controversial tactics that include the “diesel stalking” of lions in off-road vehicles and the shooting of domesticated captive-bred lions on “canned hunting” farms.

The furor over Cecil has intensified the calls for reform. The industry knows that it could be endangered by worldwide revulsion over Cecil’s killing. Many airlines have already announced a ban on the transportation of hunting trophies, although South African Airways has lifted its own ban on the practice.

[CAT] "Lions Return to Rwanda for First Time Since Genocide’s Aftermath"

Paul Steyn of National Geographic writes about the reintroduction of lions to Rwanda.

Jes Gruner was excited when he told me over the phone that the lions had made their first kill.

A week after their release into the Akagera National Park in the northeast of Rwanda, the lions took down a waterbuck on the lakeshore and were gorging themselves on the carcass. Gruner, the Park Manager of Akagera, was obviously happy about the report. These are the first wild lions to set foot in the country since the animals were hunted to local extinction 15 years ago, and a kill is a sure sign they are doing well.

The stakes are high for lions in Africa as their numbers plummet across the continent. And the Rwanda reintroduction is a working case study for conservationists on how to move and reintroduce wild lions over long distances, and how to save the species as a whole.

Lions were wiped out in Rwanda in the years after the bloody genocide and civil war in 1993 and 1994. Refugees returning from neighboring countries settled in Akagera National Park and other protected areas, then poisoned the predators to protect livestock.

[CAT] "NYC's Newest Cat Cafe Has An Outdoor Garden & Will ALSO Serve Alcohol"

Gothamist's Nell Casey reports on a new cat café planned for New York City.

We can gripe about the proliferation of yogurt shops, juiceries and bank chains but there can never be too many cat cafes. To that end, meet Koneko, another feline-friendly visiting spot slated to open mid-September on Clinton Street, just a quick 12 minute walk from NYC's first cat cafe Meow Parlour. And while both establishments share the same mission—namely to give cuddle-starved New Yorkers a spot to pet a furry friend and felines the chance at a forever home—there are some notable differences that make this new offering more than just a place to make a new BFF.

First and foremost, this will be a real cafe (Meow Parlour doesn't technically sell food on-site), with what founder Benjamin Kalb describes as Japanese bar snacks and pastries; "kind of a little bit izakaya, but not really," he says. "It's kind of my own take on that culture of food in Japan." He certainly knows food; besides trips to the country to experience cat cafes first hand, Kalb also spent time on the line at David Bouley's eponymous eatery in addition to a front of house gig at Momofuku. As required by the DOH, the cafe section will be separate from the "Cattery," but customers can take their meals with them to visit the kitties.

More, including illustrations, at the site.