With its namesake flattened head and large eyes, the flat-headed cat kind of looks like someone took a lemur’s head and put it on a small cat’s body. Prionailurus planiceps A flat-headed cat. However, they are the quintessential generalists, also feeding on rodents, small birds and even livestock. And yes, fishing cats do catch fish, usually by standing along the edge of the water. It’s a great swimmer, with webbed feet and claws that never fully retract – the better to snag underwater prey. The fishing cat of Southeast Asia is, as its name might suggest, often found near water. This is not true, as the next two cats on our list show. And typical “common knowledge” is that of the wild cats, only the tiger is a swimmer. Most of us know that domestic cats don’t like water. This makes captive breeding at zoos and wildlife centers – which has been important in other cat conservation efforts – difficult. At lower elevations, their immune system is not equipped for the higher number of bacteria and viruses. They have small ears, which actually protects them from heat loss in frigid conditions. They are actually no larger than a house cat. That fluffy coat makes them appear quite large, but it’s an illusion. They have the longest and densest fur of any cat. They are even out hunting when temperatures plunge to -40 degrees Fahrenheit. Pallas’s cats roam higher elevations of Central Asia, where they are solitary ambush predators. The Pallas’s cat (also known as the manul) actually thrives in fairly difficult conditions (at least by human standards). This fluffy cat looks distinctly annoyed. The Pallas’s cat is probably best known from “grumpy cat” memes. Threats certainly remain, but the Iberian lynx serves as a bright spot for predator conservation. Where seeing a wild Iberian lynx was now a long shot, dedicated wildlife watchers now plan wildlife trips to Spain national parks to see them. Captive breeding augmented wild populations, an allowed reintroduction to Portugal (where some 150 lynx now roam). The key is that conservationists took a comprehensive approach to their recovery. And while they still face dangers, it’s a dramatic comeback by any measure. Iberian lynx now number more than 1,000 animals. The species had disappeared from Portugal, and many feared it would be the first cat species to go extinct in modern times.įast forward to today. Its main prey, European rabbits, had a population crash due to a virus. It had been persecuted relentlessly by farmers, and the lynx wasn’t legally protected until the 1970s. Native to Spain and Portugal, the Iberian lynx had been in precipitous decline for decades. In 2002, it was the most endangered wild cat on the planet, with a population of only 94 animals. © Diego Delso / Wikimedia CommonsĪmong North American nature lovers, Europe is often considered “less wild.” And yet, some of the most exciting wildlife conservation initiatives and successes have occurred there.
I saw several black-footed cats there during night safaris that also provided views of aardvarks, Cape porcupines, hedgehogs and more. This habit means they can be reliably sighted on specialized night safaris in suitable habitat, particularly in the ranchlands around Kimberley, South Africa. According to Smithsonian, the black-footed cat “catches more prey in a single night than a leopard catches in six months.” In fact, its fast metabolism means that, at night, it is almost constantly hunting. Those who have seen big cats in the wild know that it is difficult to see them on the hunt. And while it’s found in arid regions of South Africa, Namibia and Botswana (all popular safari destinations), it is nocturnal and quite rare. The black-footed cat weighs only four pounds. But how about the smallest cat? That’s a much more difficult sighting. © Josh More / Flickrįor most African safarigoers, seeing big cats – lions, leopards and cheetahs – is a highlight of the trip. Felis nigripes A captive black-footed cat.
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