Ian Anderson’s Fave Small Cats

While Anderson’s most known for singing and serenading fans with his flute playing as a member of Jethro Tull, he’s also been a longtime patron of smaller wild cats.

“I have long been not only interested in, but a supporter of some wild cat charitable efforts to try and work with animals who are either been liberated from private ownership or from zoos and to try to repatriate them or at least have them given better circumstances,” he explained. “My interest is really limited to the small wild cats. I’m not interested in having my head bitten off so when it comes to lions and tigers, you have to find another benefactor. I just do the little guys.” While he’s quick to share his disdain for seeing wild animals in captivity (“We don’t really need to go to zoos to be among screaming children with ice cream in their hands banging on the cages of wild animals, which always fills me with horror.”), he was more than happy to share some of his favorite four-legged little guys.

Margay
“The margay is a small wild cat species that is very arboreal. It has a very long tail. It’s a small, threatened species with big eyes. It’s like a smaller version of the ocelot. The margay is not limited to, but particularly found in South America in lush, relatively jungle environments.”

Caracal
“The caracal is found from India through North Africa and the Middle East as an animal with a relatively short tail, but tufted ears, much bigger than a margay. It’s a savanna kind of cat. It’s a cat that lives in the grasslands and hunts, usually birds.”

Serval
“The serval is a short-tailed African small to medium-sized wild cat that leaps into the air to catch birds particularly. For a savanna wild cat, a long tail is of no use because they don’t climb trees. They run through the grasslands.”

Jethro Tull will be appearing on November 1 at the Beacon Theatre, @ the Beacon Theatre, 74th Street & Broadway, NYC. Visit www.beacontheatre.com or call 866-858-0008 for more information. The last local stop for the band will be on November 2 at The Capitol Theatre, 149 Westchester Ave., Port Chester. For more information, visit www.thecapitoltheatre.com or call 914-937-4126.