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Wildcat

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For other meanings of Wild Cat and wildcat, see Wildcat (disambiguation).
For the Seminole leader, see Wild Cat (Seminole).

Wildcat[1]
European Wild Cat (Felis silvestris silvestris)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Carnivora
Family:
Felidae
Genus:
Felis
Species:
F. silvestris
Binomial name
Felis silvestris
subspecies

See text

The Wildcat (Felis silvestris), sometimes "Wild Cat" or "Wild-cat", is a small predator native to Europe, the western part of Asia, and Africa. It is a hunter of small mammals, birds, and other creatures of a similar size. There are several subspecies which occur in different world regions. Sometimes included is the ubiquitous domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus), which has been introduced to every habitable continent and most of the world's larger islands, and has become feral in many of those environments; more recently the house cat is considered as a full species on its own, Felis catus.

In its native environment, the Wildcat is adaptable to a variety of habitat types: savanna, open forest, and steppe. Although domesticated breeds show a great variety of shapes and colours, wild individuals are medium-brown with black stripes, between 50 and 80 cm (20–32 inches) in length, and weigh between 3 and 6 kilograms (6–13 pounds). The African subspecies tends to be a little smaller and a lighter brown in colour.

The Wildcat is extremely timid. It avoids coming too close to human settlements. It lives solitarily and hold territories of about 3 km² each.

Profile of Asian Wild Cat

In all there are about 8 species of wildcats to be found in Asia. Of all the wildcats only one, the Bay Cat, is endemic to Borneo. It should also be remembered that Panthers, Tigers and the Golden Cat do not occur in Borneo.Although, interestingly, there is evidence to say that there were tigers in Borneo at least up till 200 years ago. How they went extinct, no one knows. The following is a simple summary of the main cat species to be found.


  • Leopard
    • Scientific name: Panthera pardus
    • Common name: Leopard or panther
    • Distribution: Western Turkey and Arabian Peninsula, Southeastern Siberia, Sri Lanka, most of Africa, South Asia and Indochina, Peninsular Malaysia and Indonesia (Java).
    • Notes: The leopard can adapt to almost any habitat that provides sufficient food and cover. It occupies lowland forest, mountains, grassland, brush country and deserts.


  • Indo-Chinese Tiger
    • Scientific name: Panthera tigris corbetti
    • Common name: Indo-Chinese tiger
    • Distribution: Eastern Burma to Vietnam and the Malay Peninsula.
    • Notes: The biggest of the Malaysian wildcats. Lately, tigers have been having a rather high profile in Malaysia due to cats preying on villagers in the eastern part of Peninsular Malaysia.


  • Clouded Leopard
    • Scientific name: Neofelis nebulosa
    • Common name: Clouded leopard
    • Distribution: Nepal, Eastern and Southern China, southeastward to Vietnam, Hainan, Taiwan, Indonesia (Sumatra), Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo.
    • Habits: Largest cat found in Borneo. Inhabits various kinds of forest, perhaps to elevations of up to 2500m. It is said to be a highly arboreal cat that hunts from trees whereby it springs on ground preys from overhanging branches.


  • Leopard Cat
    • Scientific name: Prionailurus bengalensis
    • Common name: Leopard cat
    • Distribution: Ussuri region of southeastern Siberia, Manchuria, Korea, Quelpart and Tsushima islands (between Korea and Japan) most of China, east of Tibet, Pakistan to Indochina, Taiwan, Hainan, Sumatra, Java, Bali, Lombok, Borneo, Malay Peninsula, several islands in the western and central Philippines.
    • Notes: This cat is more adaptable to deforestation and other habitat alterations compared to most other Asian felids and is often found near villages.


  • Flat-headed Cat
    • Scientific name: Felis planiceps
    • Common name: Flat-headed cat
    • Distribution: Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Southern Thailand, Indonesia (Sumatra).
    • Notes: Nocturnal and thought to be a fishing cat. Most records of its hunts are from swamps and riverine forest.


  • Fishing Cat
    • Scientific name: Felis viverrina
    • Common name: Fishing Cat
    • Distribution: India through Indochina & Java. Poorly known for Peninsular Malaysia, but records show that they occur in the very north, possibly Kelantan and Upper Perak.
    • Notes: "Fishing cats are another feline that contradicts the belief that cats don't like water. They are found in a number of water habitats, including marshy thickets, mangrove swamps, and densely vegetated areas along rivers and streams. Powerful swimmers, they push themselves along with their webbed hind feet. They have been seen wading and swimming in shallow water, hunting for a variety of aquatic prey, including fish, frogs and toads, snails and crustaceans. They will also take small birds and mammals, snakes and domestic stock such as calves and young goats."


  • Marbled Cat
    • Scientific name: Felis marmorata
    • Common name: Marbled cat
    • Distribution: Nepal, Myanmar, Indochina, Indonesia (Sumatra), Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia.
    • Notes: Arboreal, Because of human disturbance and habitat destruction, this cat has declined and become very rare in much of its range.


  • Golden Cat
    • Scientific name: Felis temmincki
    • Common name: Golden cat
    • Distribution: Tibet, Eastern Himalayas, Southern China, Nepal, Myanmar, Indochina, Indonesia (Sumatra) and Peninsular Malaysia.
    • Notes: Occurs in deciduous forests, tropical rainforest and occasionally open habitats. It is usually a terrestrial cat.


  • Bay Cat
    • Scientific name: Felis badia
    • Common name: Bay Cat
    • Distribution: Endemic to Borneo
    • Notes: A very rare cat with most of the early records made from only six specimens made between 1855 and 1928.
  • The Wild Cheuk


Subspecies

  • Unknown distribution:
    • Felis silvestris chutuchta
    • Felis silvestris gordoni
    • Felis silvestris haussa
    • Felis silvestris iraki
    • Felis silvestris nesterovi
    • Felis silvestris rubida
    • Felis silvestris tristrami
    • Felis silvestris ugandae
    • Felis silvestris vellerosa

See also

  • Lynx, any of several medium-sized wild cats

References

  1. ^ Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Order Carnivora". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 536–537. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ^ Template:IUCN2006 Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
Wikispecies has information related to Felis silvestris.
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