The wild cat
The wild cat is a type of small cat that is divided into two types: European and African wild cats, European wild cats can be found in European forests, while African wild cats can be found in the African plains and semi-plains, as well as the Arabian Peninsula and Central Asia all the way to Western India and Western China, and its forms vary depending on its homeland.
Some species are similar in appearance to domestic cats, but they are not suitable as pets because they are not used to humans.
Types of wild cats
Scientists were able to collect 40 species of wild cats from different regions, some of them are ancient in the form of fossils, and some are modern samples taken from the bodies of some wild cats that were discovered dead, and they conducted careful studies and research on all samples and came to the conclusion in 1940. Cats are divided Wild into three subspecies, which are classified as follows:- The forest breed: is the most common wild cat breed.
- Plains breed: It is a breed evolved from the wild forest cat breed, but it is smaller, has lighter fur, and has a longer and sharper tail, and it is said that domestic cats are descended from the plains.
- Forest dynasty: the breed is distinguished by its light fur and the presence of irregular features such as rings or spots on its fur.
Characteristics of a wild cat based on its surroundings
Other forms and types of wild cats branched off from the three main breeds, and the environment had an impact on them, as the composition of their bodies, colors, and some of their other traits differed, and they were categorized into five sections:
- European wild cat: It has a shape that is very similar to domestic cats, although it is somewhat larger and has thicker fur. Males weigh approximately 8 kg, while females weigh approximately 3.5 kg, with weights varying depending on the food.
- African wild cat: It is known as the Egyptian wild cat, and it is often found in open forests in Africa and Asia. It is larger than domestic cats, with pale and light low-density fur, brown fur color with fine dark stripes, a length of about 70 Poison, and a weight of 3.5 kg. It is a skilled night hunter who preys on birds and small mammals.
- Caucasian wild cat: It has a larger head and longer legs than domestic cats, and its head is flatter with a larger appearance with a short tail that ends with a rounded tip, and its dense presence has been observed in the forests of Scotland. It has yellowish-gray fur with brown streaks around its body, is about 80 cm long with a tail, and weighs between 3 and 10 kg.
- The South African wild cat: It is not dissimilar to the African wild cat in terms of fur color, and the only distinction that may be practically unique is that it has a slightly larger cranium than the African wild cat.
- Asian wild cat: has short, light sandy fur with little circular spots on the upper half of its body and a slender tail, and the fur above the spine area is darker than the fur that covers the rest of its body, and the trunk area is encircled by some black lines. The Asian wild cat's tail also finishes in circular, coiled rings of two to five rings, and it weighs 3 to 4 kg.
Stages of development of a wild cat
A wild cat lives in burrows like a fox The wild cat is one of the cat breeds, which share genes about 10 to 15 million years ago, and the shapes and behaviors of cats diversified about 6 to 7 million years ago, and the European wild cat class separated from the cat family.
The European ancestor lived with wild cats in Europe, as evidenced by the fossil remains discovered by scientists. They also revealed that the European cat breed dates back about 340,000 to 325,000 years ago, during the Ice Age. Genetic modifications of wild cats indicate that they traveled from Europe to the Middle East during the Ice Age, creating new breeds that adapted to a new habitat.
Threats facing the wild cat
Wild cats are threatened by a number of factors, which have led to a marked decrease in their numbers around the world. The wild cat breed is at risk, due to the frequent accidents that have claimed the lives of many of them; In Europe, highway accidents topped the list of causes of wild cat loss. In the rest of the regions, they often fell into the traps of fishermen, which led to the loss of a large number of them.