The excellent book Wild Cats of the World states this about the Iberian lynx lifespan: "There is little information on the longevity of Iberian lynx, although one skull in the collection of the Estación Biológica de Doñana was estimated from counts of tooth annuli (annual rings, like those of a tree) to be 14 years old."
This Iberian lynx lives for 20 years, a record it is believed.
The book was published in 2002. The stated 14 years of age as a likely and normal maximum lifespan and probably still holds true today. Wikipedia state the average age as 13 years.
Aura was born when there were 94 Iberian lynxes remaining on the planet and it was the most endangered wild cat species. That was when conservation of the Iberian lynx wasn't really seriously on the radar but since then a lot of work has been done to protect this rarest of wild cat species and their numbers have grown.
Back in the day few Iberian Lynx died of natural causes. About three quarters of all lynx mortality was attributable to human-related activities such as trapping, snaring, poisoning, poaching, shooting and such other countryside activities.
There was even illegal trapping in the above-mentioned national park. Things have changed. Aura was described as a grumpy, strong-willed Iberian lynx. Another reason for the then dire endangerment of this species was a loss of rabbits, the main prey of the Iberian lynx to haemorrhagic disease.
She lived the last part of her life in captivity I guess in order to protect her which may account at least in part for her longevity.
This is a list of cats that live in trees. I am referring to a group of wild cat species, of course. The first sentence should be qualified by saying that no cat species lives in trees all the time. There are wild cats that live in forests and spend time in trees and hunt in trees. These cats also live on the ground (terrestrial cats). All cats are good climbers. Some are better than others. Tree dwelling cats are the best climbers for obvious reasons. They are usually slender and have long tails for balance. The picture of the margay below illustrates this admirably.
These two wild cat species are the best climbers and most associated with tree dwelling:
Other wild cat species that spend time in trees are:
Ocelet - hunt on the ground, rest in trees and escape to trees
Leopard cat - likes forest cover and can be "quite arboreal in their habits"¹
African golden cat - thought to be arboreal but short tail and stocky body indicates otherwise. More needs to be known about this cat.
Marbled cat - more arboreal than the average wild cat species.
Leopard - we have all seen leopards taking prey into trees and resting in trees.
All but one lives in Asia, where logging is destroying their habitat. See cats that like water.
Note: "Arboreal" means: living in trees. (1) Wild Cats of the World.
Margay
This is probably the best feline tree dweller. They tend to prey on other animals living in trees and terrestrial animals. They often feed on birds, rodents, insects and fruit. Yes, fruit. Most of the prey of the margay are nocturnal and arboreal. However, they also hunt on the ground feeding on mice, rabbits and young pacas and agoutis for example.
This photograph of the jaguarundi reminds me that this wild cat is the one that looks the least like a cat. And I am not the only person who might think it. It is the most widely distributed and commonly seen cat in Central and South America although you will be hard-pressed to see one! But it's biology and behaviour are still largely a mystery (as at 2002). And the experts have said that "Taxonomically, the jaguarundi is an enigma".
Jaguarundi. Photo: unattributed.
The scientists have put this cat by itself when categorising it i.e. they have assigned the jaguarundi to its own genus (as at 2002). This cat has 38 chromosomes while all other small South American cats have 36 chromosomes. It is also unique in that it has five pairs of E group chromosomes and no F group chromosomes. it has been suggested that the jaguarundi is more closely related to the cheetah and puma than to the other South American cats.
It has been difficult to categorise this cat taxonomically partly because of its appearance as it hardly looks like a cat at all. Its appearance is reminiscent of a marten while some cat experts have compared it to a weasel or an otter. It is said to superficially resemble a blackish-brown neotropical mustelid called a tayra.
The picture is one of the best that I have seen of the jaguarundi. It comes from The Board Panda website but is unattributed. In the language of the cat fancy and domestic cats, its coat is ticked tabby.
This video from Big Cat Rescue (BCR) shows a melanistic Geoffroy's cat. The point being made right away is that this small wild cat species is not always dark charcoal or black like this. The "normal" colour of their fur varies from smoky grey to lion-coloured and there are many intermediate shades of colouring. The four subspecies (as at 2002) vary considerably in colour as does their body size. Although you can't see them on this melanistic Geoffroy's cat, there are numerous small black spots on the body. The tale is ringed with dark bands. On a sad note, as at 2002, the pelt of Geoffroy's cat was the most frequently traded cat skin after the bobcat.
However, melanistic forms of this cat are common. Melanism is due to a dominant autosomal allele. "Melanism" refers to cats going black or dark charcoal when they should be normally brown with tabby-style markings.
Image: PoC. The cat is a screenshot from the video.
This cat is found in South America only. If you visualise South America and draw a line across the middle, this cat lives below that line and on the right hand side.
They spend most of their time on the ground but they are extremely good climbers. Their habitat varies depending upon where they are. In Chile they like areas of dense cover while in Uruguay they prefer open woodlands and "remnants of open savannas associated with marshes".
In the video you can hear the presenter, one of BCR's staffers, mentioning that they like to sit upright on their haunches or stand on their hind feet while using their tail as a balancing aid. I call this the meerkat position. Some domestic cats do it particularly dwarf domestic cats. Interestingly, it is on record that one individual cat held this position for 10 minutes. That is quite remarkable. The position is normally taken up to check for predators and the scan the landscape.
Sometimes Geoffroy's cat use the crooks of trees as defecation sites. This is unusual as well. In one park, the Torres del Paine NP in Chile, 93% of all faeces were in trees. They are described as "arboreal middens". The faeces were deposited 3 to 5 m above the ground usually where the main trunk splits into several branches.
Melanistic Geoffroy's cat. Screenshot from video.
Even in a landscape which has very few trees this cat likes to go to the toilet in the crooks of trees. In an almost treeless landscape 18% of 190 Geoffroy's cat scats were found in the crooks of trees.
The Geoffroy' cat is mainly nocturnal with their main activity taking place after sunset and before sunrise. In Chilean Patagonia the cat is most active at night or daytime activity was restricted to the early morning or late afternoon.
They mainly feed on small rodents and birds. A male Geoffroy cat in Uruguay had the remains of a hare in its stomach. In one park, 80% of scats contain the remains of small animals and birds occurred in 50% of scats. Sometimes this cat goes fishing and will also eat frogs. They do not have an aversion to water and will jump in water to fish.
It is believed to be a solitary cat and their home ranges vary between about 3 km² for a female to around 12 km² for a male.
Gestation varies between 62 and 67 days. Litter sizes vary from one to 3 kittens with the average observed in captivity being 1.5 kittens. Kittens are born with their eyes closed and they are opened at 19 days of age.
Source: Various - primarily Wild Cats of the World and referenced works.
The African Golden cat is a small to medium-sized wild cat species living in the African forests. It lives in sub-Saharan areas of the continent on the west side as shown in the map below. In short they live in tropical central and western Africa, including the Congo Republic and Uganda.
Map by Michael based on IUCN Red List
They are adapted to hot humid forests. They sleep in trees during daytime and hunt at dawn and dusk i.e. they are crepuscular like many other wild cat species. They are secretive and little is known about their population size but they are in danger because of extensive habitat destruction occurring throughout Africa. This is increasing as there is an increased need for precious metals for car batteries and high tech devices. This necessitates mining which leads to forest destruction.
Appearance
This cat is about twice as big as a domestic cat. They have variable coats but most often it is a golden colour as indicated by the cat's name. Black and grey cats have also been recorded. The coat is slightly spotted with a paler underside. The tail is medium in length. They are solitary hunters. They stalk prey on the ground and in the trees. Their main diet consists of birds, monkeys and tree-hyraxes in the trees and on the ground they hunt rodents, small antelopes and duikers.
The length of head plus body is 69 cm to 90 cm (25.5 inches to 35.5 inches). Their weight varies between 5 kg and 12 kg which is 11 to 26.5 pounds.
The sand Cat. This is a thumbnail. Photo by carinemily (Flickr - opens new window). As can be seen this is a small cat averaging 6lbs in weight, a little under the average of domestic cats I would have thought (see Largest Domestic Cat Breed (new window) for size comparisons)
The scientific name for this small wildcat is Felis margarita and four (src: IUCN) subspecies have been “classically” described. Other sources say that there are 6 sub species:
The IUCN Red List for Threatened Species™ classify this cat NT – Near Threatened - “species or lower taxa that may be considered threatened with extinction in the near future, although it does not currently qualify for the threatened status. As such the IUCN (new window) notes the importance of re-evaluating Near Threatened taxa often or at appropriate intervals.” (src: Wikipedia®). The listing of Near Threatened would seem to be under review as further research may indicate a different classification. Further research is needed generally.
The assessment is based on these findings:
Described as rare by experts
Low population (effectively less than 10,000) and a possible decline in numbers projected of more than 30%. The trend however is unknown.
Fragmented range
Degradation of desert habitat
Decline in prey
Range, Habitat & Ecology
The Sand Cat is able to survive in temperatures ranging from −5 °C to 52 °C (126 °F). The Sand cat is found in the following countries:
Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Islamic Republic of, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Western Sahara, Yemen. Presence uncertain: Afghanistan, Chad, Iraq, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Mali, Qatar, Senegal, Sudan, Tunisia.
The map was made by me from a blank world map made by User:Vardion and adapted by User:E Pluribus Anthony for Wikipedia®. This is permitted under under Wikimedia® creative commons license = Attribution-ShareAlike License. The source is IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ . This is a fairly rough map but gives a good idea of the range. To get a feel for what the landscape is like on the ground the picture below is of the Caspian sea coast from Turkmenbashi headland, Turkmenistan. The picture is a thumbnail and is by Citt (Flickr - new window):
And this is a Google map of the area:
View Larger Map
Note the sandy desert terrain and sparse vegetation where they feed on small rodent prey. They burrow so the soil cannot be compacted. They have acute hearing, greater in range and sensitivity to the domestic cat which is used to hunt nocturnally. Other prey includes:
Spiny Mice
Gerbils
Jerboas
Small birds (Desert Lark)
Desert Monitor
Fringe-toed lizards
Sandfish
Short-fingered Gecko
Horned and Sand vipers
Arabian toad-head lizards
Insects
The Sand Cat is well adapted to desert life being able to survive off the body fluids of prey instead of drinking water. As mentioned, they are nocturnal hunters with a large range of 16 km² to 40 km² .
habitat loss and degradation through human activity e.g. livestock grazing.
drought affecting vegetation
feral and domestic dogs and cats competing and disease
traps to protect livestock
shot (SE Arabia)
Conservation:
Included on CITES Appendix II – “lists species that are not necessarily now threatened with extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled” (src: CITES)
Hunting is banned in Niger, Pakistan, Tunisia, Algeria, Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan and Mauritania.
Protected areas e.g. Tassili n’ Ajjer and Ahaggar National Parks (Algeria) and Moteh and Touran protected areas (Iran).
This is an early post to which I added the above text etc....
Sand cat copyright Nick Lawes
The Sand Cat looks very much like a domestic cat and there is good evidence, apparently, to suggest that this small wild cat was domesticated by the ancient Egyptians. I wonder, as this wildcat looks so like a domestic cat and has a weight and size very similar to a domestic cat, if it was in fact a domestic cat at one stage. If not, one can very much see in this cat how the wild cat came in from the wild some 9,000 years ago and became domesticated. It would be quite a small step.
Another cat with acute hearing (due in part to very large ear flaps) designed to hear rodents underground is the Serval. The Serval is bred with a domestic cat (Bengal) to produce the Savannah, a majestic cat. The Serval although wild is tamed to be a domestic cat, albeit rarely and under carefully controlled conditions.
Other wild cats that are important to us and which look like domestic cats are the American Bobcat and Scottish Wildcat. Both are bigger than the Sand cat however.
