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Ocelot
Leopardus pardalis
Size: 7-10 kg (15-22 lbs) males 9-13 kg (20-29 lbs).
Habitat: Found in a wide spectrum of habitas including tropical and subtropical forests of all types as well as savannah grasslands.
Primary prey: Ocelots usually prey on terrestrial, nocturnal rodents and small reptiles, but are known to occasionally eat squirrel monkeys, young tortoises, fish, land crabs, and birds.
Conservation Status: Stable (Endangered in the United States).
Principal threats: Loss of habitat due to deforestation; illegal hunting.
Distribution: Although formerly known from several southern states of the United States, ocelots now occur only in southern Texas and Arizona. Their present range extends from southernmost Texas to northern Argentina.
Notable Features: Ocelots and margays are very similar in appearance but ocelots are larger, have a shorter tail, and are less arboreal.
Oncilla, Tiger Cat
Leopardus tigrinus
Size: females and males 2-3 kg ( 4.4-6.6 lbs).
Habitat: Usually found in montane cloud forest, above 1500 meters.
Primary prey: Rodents and birds.
Conservation Status: Indeterminate.
Principal threats: Unclear due to a lack of data.
Distribution: Very little is known of this rare, small cat. It is thought to be present in disjunct patches of montane cloud forest from Costa rica southward into Brazil in the east, and Bolivia and Argentina to the west.
Notable Features: The oncilla is similar in appearance to the margay but is slightly smaller and has a shorter tail. In addition, the oncilla occurs at higher altitudes than the margay.
Pampas Cat
Lynchailurus colocolo
Size: 3-4 kg (6-9 lbs).
Habitat: The Pampas cat occurs in wide variety of habitats including grassland, shrubland, montane woodland and forest. It is not found in lowland tropical and temperate rainforest.
Primary prey: Small mammals and birds.
Conservation Status: Stable ?
Principal threats: Loss of habitat due to agriculure; illegal hunting.
Distribution: South America (Andean mountains, central Brazil, Argentina).
Notable Features: The Pampas cat varies in appearance over its extensive range. In the high Andes, the coat has more distinctive spots than in the grasslands of Argentina.
Puma, Mountain Lion,
Cougar, Catamount
Puma concolor
Size: females 34-48 kg (75-106 lbs) males 53-72 kg (117-158 lbs).
Habitat: Pumas are found in a wide range of habitats, from cold, temperate forests to tropical rainforests, from mountains to deserts.
Primary prey: Pumas are generalist predators whose diets vary according to what is available. In the mountains and forests of North America, they favor deer but in the tropics, they are more likely to prey on hares and large rodents.
Conservation Status: Stable (Endangered in Florida and probably Vulnerable in many parts of its range).
Principal threats: Persecution by livestock ranchers; inbreeding depression (Florida).
Distribution: Formerly distributed throughout the New World from southern Canada to the southern tip of South America, the puma has been eliminated from almost all of midwestern and eastern North America. Nevertheless, it has the largest range of any terrestrial mammal in the western hemisphere.
Notable Features: The puma has relatively long hindlimbs and a long, heavy tail. It is a quiet cat that cannot roar, although females in estrous may make piercing calls. Its closest relative among the big cats appears to be the cheetah.
Rusty-spotted Cat
Prionailurus rubiginosus
Size: females 1.1 kg (2.2 lbs); males 1.5-1.6 kg (3.3 - 3.5 lbs).
Habitat: Predominantly dry, open forests, scrubland, and grassland.
Primary prey: Small mammals and birds.
Conservation Status: ? (indeterminate).
Principal threats: Deforestation and the spread of cultivation.
Distribution: India and Sri Lanka.
Notable Features: This is the smallest of the living cat species.
Sand cat
Felis margarita
Size: emales 1.4-3 kg (3-6.6 lbs) males 2.1-3.4 kg (4.6-7.5 lbs).
Habitat: Sandy and stony desert.
Primary prey: Small rodents and snakes.
Conservation Status: Stable.
Principal threats: Excessive hunting.
Distribution: Desert regions of North Africa and southwestern Asia.
Notable Features: The sand cat is well-adapted to its desert environment. It has thick fur on the undersides of its paws to protect it from hot sand and gets all the water it requires from its prey. Sand cats are nocturnal, resting by day in burrows that theydig or modify.
Serval
Leptailurus serval
Size: females 9-13 kg (20-29 lbs) males 9-18 kg (20-40 lbs).
Habitat: Servals prefer well-watered savannah envitronments with tall grass, such as reed beds along reivers and streams. They are not found in rainforest.
Primary prey: Large and small rodents, as well as birds, reptiles, fish, and insects.
Conservation Status: Stable (endangered in North Africa).
Principal threats: destruction of wetland habitats; illegal hunting.
Distribution: Servals are found throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa, in grasslands near water. A few relict populations may exist in North Africa.
Notable Features: The serval is a slender, long-legged cat with very large ears. Servals often locate their prey in tall grass by listening and then make a characteristic high leap and pounce on their victims.
Snow Leopard
Panthera uncia
Size: females 35-40 kg (77-88lbs) males 45-55 kg (99-121 lbs).
Habitat: Steep rocky slopes in mountainous regions at high elevations (2700-6000 meters [8900-19,700 feet]).
Primary prey: Snow leopards usually feed on medium-sized ungulates, including wild sheep and goats, but will also rely on large rodents and game birds during part of the year. .
Conservation Status: Endangered.
Principal threats: Lack of prey; illegal hunting.
The magnificent pelt of the snow leopard has undoubtedly contributed to its decline. In the 1920's, over 1000 pelts per year were exported from Asia to be made into coats for the wealthy. Hunting is no longer legal in most places but snow leopard pelts still appear in tourist shops in parts of China and Tibet. Poaching is difficult to resist when a single pelt can provide a poor family with nearly a year's income in some cases. Snow leopards are also hunted for their skeletons which are used as substitutes for tiger bones in the Chinese medicine trade. Those that are not killed for their fur and bones often find themselves competing with hungry humans for the wild sheep and goats that are their natural prey.
Distribution: The snow leopard has a very patchy, discontinuous distribution in the mountains of central Asia.
Notable Features: Well adapted to the cold, rugged terrain it inhabits, the snow leopard has short limbs, a long well-furred tail, and large broad paws. Its coloration hides it well amongst rocks partially covered with snow.
Tiger
Panthera tigris
Size: Females 65-170 kg (143-374 lbs), males 90-320 kg (198-704 lbs).
Habitat: Tigers can survive in a wide range of environments, from snowy temperate to warm, tropical forests and from dry, open woodlands to mangrove swamps. Their basic requirements are water, sufficient large prey, and some cover to conceal themselves.
Primary prey: Various species of deer, wild pigs, and buffalo.
Conservation status: Endangered.
Principal threats: Lack of prey; illegal hunting.
Distribution: Over the past 100 years, the tiger's range has decreased greatly. Formerly distributed across Asia from Turkey to China, Korea, and the Russian far east, it is now restricted to a few scattered populations in India, parts of Southeast Asia, China, and Russia.
Notable features: Tigers are the largest of the living wild cats, but they vary greatly in size over their range, with the largest individuals known from Siberia and India and the smallest from the islands of Bali and Sumatra. Although they are usually solitary, tigers have been observed to hunt in small groups and share their kills with other, probably related, individuals. Of the big cats, tigers are the best known as man-eaters. In most cases, man-eaters are old or injured individuals who have difficulty hunting wild prey.
Oncilla, Tiger Cat
Leopardus tigrinus
Size: females and males 2-3 kg ( 4.4-6.6 lbs).
Habitat: Usually found in montane cloud forest, above 1500 meters.
Primary prey: Rodents and birds.
Conservation Status: Indeterminate.
Principal threats: Unclear due to a lack of data.
Distribution: Very little is known of this rare, small cat. It is thought to be present in disjunct patches of montane cloud forest from Costa rica southward into Brazil in the east, and Bolivia and Argentina to the west.
Notable Features: The oncilla is similar in appearance to the margay but is slightly smaller and has a shorter tail. In addition, the oncilla occurs at higher altitudes than the margay.
Wild Cat
Felis silvestris
Size: females 4 kg (8.8 lbs) males 5 kg (11 lbs).
Habitat: African wild cats are found in a wide range of habitats including desert, savannah, woodland, and forest. They are rare or absent in tropical rainforest.
Primary prey: Rodents, birds, small reptiles and amphibians.
Conservation Status: Stable.
Principal threats: Hybridization with domestic cats.
Distribution: The African wild cat is a subspecies of the wild cat, Felis sylvestris, that occurs in the Middle east and throughout much of Africa. The remaining wild subspecies are found in Europe and Asia.
Notable Features: This subspecies of wild cat appears to be ancestral to all domestic cats. Its coat pattern is usually tabby-like with faint dark stripes and spots on a reddish to tawny brown background. It differs from the Europen species in being more slender with relatively longer limbs.
 marshjazz · Mon May 16, 2005 @ 03:39am · 0 Comments |
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