The 2014 annual conference of the Feline Conservation Federation is being held in my state of Arizona. Yes! Conference hotel is in Scottsdale (Phoenix area) and the Friday day trip is to Out Of Africa. There will be live kittens at the hotel to meet up close, most likely serval and lynx and geoffroy's cat. There will be several speakers on Saturday, including an international expert on black footed cat breeding plus likely someone from my local University of Arizona speaking on the borderland jaguar project. Since hot summers are actually the non-tourist season in Phoenix, the resort hotel rates are very reasonable. Here is the link for my fellow cat lovers: FCF 2014 Annual Convention in Scottsdale, Arizona
Update - there is also an optional post-conference trip on Sunday to Wildlife World Zoo. Admission for FCF attendees is free, but if you need transportation there is a $30 fee for van to and from hotel.
I just got an email newsletter with the speaker lineup, which is completely different from what I initially thought (but still exciting). Jim Sanderson (Small Wild Cat Conservation Alliance) Jamie M and Ashley B (Wildlife World Zoo carnivore trainers/keepers) Hilda Tresz (Phoenix Zoo behavioral enrichment) April Howard (Arizona Game and Fish large carnivore biologist) ??? (not finalized yet, but likely a small cat expert from a breeding center in the UAE)
