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| Scientific Name: Prionailurus bengalensis |
Size: Head and body 17-23.5 inches
(44-60cm);
tail 12-16 inches (30-40cm) |
| Weight: 6.5-9 pounds (3-4kg) |
| Distribution: A large range, from
Siberia, Tibet and India, through Burma, Thailand, to China and south to Sumatra,
Java, Borneo and the Philippines. |
| Habitat: Variety of habitats, from
dense tropical forests to pine forests. Also lives in scrub, semidesert, secondary
vegetation, and agricultural areas. |
| Diet: Feeds on hares, rodents, reptiles,
birds and fish. |
| Reproduction: After a gestation period
of 65-72 days, female gives birth to 1-4 kittens (most commonly 2-3). |
| Status: Least
Concern |
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| Also known as the Bengal Cat. In China
it is named the "Money Cat," because its spots are thought to resemble
Chinese coins. A small, tawny cat with a black-spotted coat, about the same size
as a domestic cat, this species has a wide distribution right across southern
Asia. Its ears are long and rounded, and there is a vivid "eye-spot"
on the back of each ear. Its tail is heavily spotted, with a black tip. The coat
is short and thin. The Leopard Cats success |
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seems
to be due to its flexibility. It is at home as much on the ground as it is in
the trees, as much in the highlands as in the lowlands, as much in the day as
at night, as much near to human habitation as far from it. It swims well, climbs
well and runs fast. It breeds all the year round. Its adaptability is a sharp
contrast to several of its close relatives that have much more specific demands,
and therefore much more limited geographical ranges. Because of its wide range
of habitats it is not surprising to find that it varies in both size and coat
color, being larger and paler in the northern, cooler regions (almost silver-gray
in certain areas) and darker and smaller in the hot, humid, more southern regions
(with a brownish ground color in some areas).
Its prey consists largely of birds and rodents, such as mice, rats and squirrels.
It may also take lizards, frogs, and even bats (which they catch when they fall
onto the floors of caves). Its boldness around human settlements means that it
often attacks small domestic stock such as poultry. Unlike some of its extremely
shy relatives, it will even enter villages at night to carry out out these raids.
It has been reported that, unusually for wild cats, the Leopard Cat may form breeding
pairs, with the male sharing the parental duties. This may be another reason for
its success, compared with other species of wild cat, since the extra parental
care must give the kittens a better chance of survival.
Its excellent swimming abilities mean that it has managed to populate a number
of small, off-shore islands, which other wild cat species have failed to colonize.
In fact, the very first Leopard Cat ever caught was found swimming in the Bay
of Bengal - which explains why the Leopard Cat's specific name is bengalensis.
This species has been crossed with domestic cats deliberately on a number of occasions,
to create a spotted domestic cat. In recent years breeders have been successful
in developing these crosses into an exciting new breed they have named the Bengal
Cat. It is surprising that such a cross should produce fertile offspring and this
throws into doubt the validity of a recent reclassification of small cats, in
which this species was taken out of the genus Felis (the genus to which
the domestic cat belongs). |
| LEOPARD
CAT PHOTOS |
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