Wildcat

Wildcat[1]
European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris)
Conservation status

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Felis
Species: F. silvestris
Binomial name
Felis silvestris
Schreber, 1775
subspecies

See text
The five subspecies of Felis silvestris according to a 2007 DNA study.[3]

The wildcat (Felis silvestris) is a small cat (Felinae) native to Europe, the western part of Asia, and Africa. It is a hunter of small mammals, birds, and other creatures of a similar or smaller size. There are several subspecies distributed in different regions of the world. 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.

In its native environment, the wildcat is adaptable to a variety of habitat types: savannah, open forest, and steppe.

A study by the National Cancer Institute suggests that all current house cats in the world are descendants from a group of self-domesticating wildcats 10,000 years ago, somewhere in the Near East.[3] It is believed that this domestication occurred when the Agricultural Revolution yielded grain, which would be stored in granaries, that attracted rodents, which in turn attracted cats. The closest relative of the wildcat is the Sand Cat (Felis margarita).

Contents

Description

The wildcat physically resembles a domesticated cat in most respects. Although domesticated breeds show a great variety of shapes and colours, wild species are pale yellow to medium-brown with black stripes or spots. The underparts are light grey,and sometimes marked with black spots. melanistic (all-black) individuals have been reported, but are probably the result of hybridisation with domestic cats.[4]

Wildcats range from 45 to 80 centimetres (18 to 31 in) in length, and weigh between 3 and 6 kilograms (6.6 and 13 lb). Shoulder height averages about 35 centimetres (14 in) and tail length is about 30 centimetres (12 in). The African and Asian subspecies tend to be a more slender than the European wildcat, with shorter hair and a lighter brown colour.

Wildcats also have the same range of vocalisations as domestic cats, including purring, meowing, hissing, and growling. Except during the mating season, they tend to be quiet animals, vocalising only when close to each other.[4]

Behaviour

The wildcat is extremely wary of humans, and avoids approaching human settlements. It lives in solitude and holds a territory of anything from 1.5 to 12 square kilometres (0.58 to 4.6 sq mi), depending on the local environment. Males tend to hold larger territories than females, and their ranges overlap those of from three to six neighbouring females. Wildcats of both sexes mark their ranges by depositing faeces in prominent locations and by leaving scent marks through urine spraying, cheek rubbing, and scratching the ground.[4]

Diet

The wildcat is predominantly a carnivore; insects and plants are minor parts of its diet. Regardless of subspecies, most of its prey consists of small mammals, mainly rodents and rabbits, with lizards being the third most common prey in Portugal, and birds the least common.[5] Wildcats are, however, opportunistic predators, and have also been observed to eat amphibians, fish, weasels, scorpions, and even young roe deer or antelopes.[4]

Life cycle

Wildcats typically breed only once a year, although a second litter may be produced if the first dies early. The European wildcat breeds between February and March, and southern African wildcats show a preference for breeding during the wet season when prey is most abundant. The northern African wildcat, however, has been observed to breed year round, with no preference for a particular season. Oestrus lasts from two to eight days, and gestation from 56 to 69 days, tending to be slightly shorter in the African subspecies than in the European wildcat.[4]

The mother prepares a underground den or other sheltered location before giving birth. In the wild, litter sizes range from one to five kittens, with three or four being the most common. The kittens weigh between 75 and 150 grams (2.6 and 5.3 oz) at birth, and are blind and helpless. They are initially spotted, but the spots may fuse into stripes as the cat ages. The eyes open after seven to twelve days, and they begin to hunt live prey at ten to twelve weeks of age. They are fully weaned at two months, begin to live independently after about three months, and have dispersed to establish their own territories within a year, by which time they are sexually mature.[4]

Wildcats live up to sixteen years in captivity.

Distribution

African wild cat at the Johannesburg Zoo

The European wildcat was once found throughout Europe, excluding Ireland, Scandinavia, and some of the smaller islands. Relict populations now survive in scattered locations across Europe, from Portugal and northern Scotland to Turkey and the Carpathian Mountains. Populations also survive on Sicily, and Sardinia. The African subspecies are found throughout the continent, avoiding only the deserts and dense tropical forests, and also in the Middle East, ranging as far as Iran. The Asian wildcat lives further east, from Pakistan and north-west India in a band through central Asia as far as Mongolia.[4]

As might be expected, given their wide distribution, wildcats are able to adapt to a range of different habitats. They require some degree of cover from which to stalk or ambush their prey, but almost any form of cover is suitable, including scrubland, rocky terrain, or agricultural land. They are commonly found in deciduous or tropical woodland, but also inhabit heathland, savannah, and swamp. They avoid areas with heavy winter snowfall, or where there is a limited supply of water.[4]

Status

The main threats to the survival of this species are hybridization with domestic cats, disease transmission, and competition with feral domestic cats. Other significant threats are ongoing habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation in some areas (although in some other parts of Europe forest cover is increasing, as a result of abandonment of extensive agricultural land). Road kills and, in some areas, persecution are also problems.

The main central European population is in the Eifel mountains of Germany. There have been reintroduction efforts in Southern Germany. The European Association of Zoos and Aquarius (EAZA) is trying to establish a European studbook for the species, which would contain data on the captive population in its member institutions. The wildcat is part of the EAZA European Carnivore Campaign [1], running from 2008–2010, with the goal of furthering the acceptance for living together with carnivores and ultimately supporting various field projects in Europe on each of the sixteen chosen species.

Subspecies

According to a 2007 DNA analysis, there are only 5 subspecies:[3]

Older texts separated out many more subspecies:

Felis silvestris gordoni at the Zoo Olomouc, Czech Republic

References

  1. ↑ Wozencraft, W. Christopher (16 November 2005). "Order Carnivora (pp. 532-628)". In Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). pp. 536-537. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3. 
  2. ↑ Nowell, K. (2008). Felis silvestris. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 22 March 2009. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Driscoll, CA, et al. (28 June 2007). "The Near Eastern Origin of Cat Domestication". Science 317 (5837): 519–523. doi:10.1126/science.1139518. PMID 17600185. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Sunquist, Mel; Sunquist, Fiona (2002). Wild cats of the World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 83-98. ISBN 0-226-77999-8. 
  5. ↑ Sarmento P (1996). "Feeding ecology of the European wildcat Felis silvestris in Portugal". Acta Theriologica 41 (4): 409–414. 

External links