Every day, millions of Brazilians recall how rich the country’s feline biodiversity is when they reach into their wallets: Since entering circulation in 2010, the ‘50 real’ notes have carried a printed drawing of a jaguar (Panthera onca), the largest feline in the Americas. In Brazil, one can even trace the animal that inspired the design of […]
Tag: Wildcats
Is it an otter or a cat? Long-bodied, short-legged and weasel-headed, this is one of the most bizarre felines on the planet
The jaguarundi is one of the strangest-looking cats in the Americas. Long-bodied, short-legged and sleek, it has more than a hint of otter or weasel about it, which explains why it is sometimes called the otter cat. Yet this elusive hunter is very much a felid, and a close relative of the puma. Found from […]
Social Media Could Boost Wildlife Conservation Efforts for Small Mammal Species, Experts Say
Photos of wildlife on social media have the power to boost conservation by depicting predators not only as beautiful, but as similar to domestic pets. A new study has found that, through their millions of followers, Instagram and Facebook can steer public engagement and awareness toward support for predators like wildcats, who are sometimes shot […]
European wildcats could be seen again in England for first time in 100 years
The prospect of European wildcats prowling in south-west England has taken a leap forward after a two-year study concluded a reintroduction was feasible – and most local people were positive about the idea. Felis silvestris has been absent from mid-Devon for more than a century, but the area has been judged to have the right […]
Tabby’s likely ancestor & Earth’s most widespread wildcat is an enigma
The Afro-Asiatic wildcat (Felis lybica) is the world’s most widely distributed wildcat, but experts and information on the species are scarce. The species’ range is immense, stretching across most of Africa, Southwest and Central Asia, India, China and Mongolia. But Arash Ghoddousi, lead author for F. lybica’s 2022 IUCN species conservation assessment, says the study […]
Rare Colocolo Cat Captured on Trail Cam in Chile Sauntering up as if on a Catwalk (Watch)
A conservation nonprofit in Chile has delighted South American ecologists with the daytime camera trap footage of a Pampas cat, an extremely rare, non-endangered, and little-understood small wildcat species. Named after the characteristic South American environment they thrive in, the “Colocolo,” to use the local name, looks like a small lynx, or large house cat. […]
Fishing cats in India struggle to survive outside protected areas
The wetlands of West Bengal in eastern India are one of the country’s best habitats for the fishing cat, a species vulnerable to extinction. But a significant population of these fish-eating, mid-sized wildcats lives outside protected areas, putting them at high risk of road accidents and retaliatory killing, reports contributor Nabarun Guha for Mongabay India. […]
Spain’s rewilding of Iberian lynx at risk after lobbying by hunters and farmers
Only last year it was hailed as a conservation success story: the Iberian lynx, which had been close to extinction, had sprung back to life thanks to a two-decade-long effort to expand the population. Now, however, that progress is at risk after several regional governments in Spain acceded to pressure from farmers and hunters to […]