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Image Credit: Wildlife Conservation Magazine

Excerpt

At his first medical examination, five-week-old Rio barely blinks as the veterinarian shines her flashlight into his wide blue eyes. He remains stoic as she presses her stethoscope to his chest to listen to his heartbeat. When she grips him by the nape of his neck, he dangles patiently while an assistant inspects his body, running her fingers through his fur to feel his haunches, already corded thick with muscle. He doesn't squirm or growl at the lightning flash of cameras encircling him. The kitten merely yawns, the tip of his pink tongue poking out. Already, it seems, he's grown accustomed to life in the spotlight.