Wild cats: names and descriptions of rare breeds

The World Federation notes about 70 breeds of cats. And in nature, these mustachioed animals are even more amazing and diverse. Let's get acquainted with the rarest species of wild cats.

Manul

This predator was first described by the naturalist and natural scientist Peter Simon Pallas, so the Pallas cat is often called the Pallas. He has a small head with wide-set rounded ears, a dense body, short but thick paws and incredibly thick hair. The hairs are quite long, silvery, sometimes with a fawn-reddish tint. The weight of the animal is from 2 to 5 kg.

Manula can be seen in Asia in regions with a continental climate. It often appears in places where a little snow falls in winter.

Blackfoot (African) cat

The smallest wild cat. She weighs from 1 to 2.4 kg and lives in the desert in Africa (for example, in Namibia, Botswana). The coat is sand colored with dark spots. And on the paw pads of the beast grows black fur, which protects against hot sand. This feature in appearance also gave the name of the variety.

A black-footed cat sleeps in the hole of a rabbit, porcupine or termite during the day. Therefore, the pet is also called an ant tiger. And all night he hunts gophers, medium-sized birds, grasshoppers, and sometimes hares.

Caracal, or Steppe (Barbary) Lynx

Caracal is very unusual. It is close to varieties such as lynx, cougar, serval. For example, from the first he got ears with tassels, and from the second - coloring. The body weight of the cat is 10-20 kg.

Interesting fact: despite the status of savage, caracal is well tamed. He even managed to cross with a home representative. Such a hybrid is called caracat.

Serval

Serval has unusual proportions. This long-legged beast weighs 10-17 kg. Moreover, his head is small, his ears are large (rounded at the tips), and the tail is rather short. And the color of the hair of the pet resembles a cheetah. Serval is found in nature in Africa.

It easily interbreeds with other cats. So, there are servikal and caraval (mix with steppe trot), as well as savannah (mix with domestic cat). Savannah inherited the unique appearance of the serval, and from a tamed relative - a calm character and devotion to man.

Fishing cat

This unique fisherman lives in Asia and looks like a viverra. He swims perfectly, since he has membranes on the forepaws between his fingers, and dives for fish. Also preys on crabs, frogs, snails, birds and snakes. Body weight is from 7 to 14 kg.

Ocelot, or field jaguar

Ocelot lives in America, weighs 10-15 kg, the color of the coat is similar to a leopard. At night, he preys on small mammals, birds and reptiles, and during the day rests in the hollow. Ocelots are well tamed; today they are even kept at home.

Code

This small beast lives in South America (mainly in Chile), weighs about 2-2.5 kg and differs mainly in a grayish-brown fur coat with black spots. There are completely black representatives. Codcode is a rare and little studied animal, therefore it is difficult to judge the nature and behavior.

Geoffroy

Geoffroy weighs 4-5 kg. Like a fisherman, he also swims and eats fish. It hunts birds, hares, and mice at night, and in the afternoon, it settles down comfortably on a tree. It is noteworthy that there it mates with cats of different types. Thanks to this ability, it was possible to cross the geoffrey with a home relative. So there was a breed of safari.

Margay

This long-tailed pet is found in South and Central America. In appearance, it resembles an ocelot, but it has a tail about 40 cm long. Like squirrels, Margay spends most of his life on trees. He even knows how to hang on branches.

Chinese (gobian gray, or mountain) cat

Lives only in the mountainous and steppe places of China, sometimes found in southern Mongolia. The Chinese cat is poorly studied, looks like a domestic brother, but larger. There are attractive tassels at the tips of the ears.

Kalimantan (Borneo) cat

The rarest and poorly studied endemic found on the island of Borneo (Indonesia). An animal first got into camera lenses only in 2002, therefore, even on the Internet, there are very few images. The weight of Catopuma Badia is 2.5-4.6 kg.

Temminka

It lives in Asia - in the tropics and subtropics, sometimes in dry deciduous forests. The body length of the temminka is 90 cm, and the length of the tail is about 45 cm. The wool is golden brown, gray and black.

All these animals are truly unique, and because of poaching, they risk a completely abyss. In captivity, many of them do not breed, so saving these endangered species is especially difficult. Take care of nature and our smaller brothers!