   #copyright

Wild cat

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Mammals

                    iWild Cat
   European Wild Cat
   European Wild Cat

                             Conservation status

   Least Concern (LC)
            Scientific classification

   Kingdom: Animalia
   Phylum:  Chordata
   Class:   Mammalia
   Order:   Carnivora
   Family:  Felidae
   Genus:   Felis
   Species: F. silvestris

                                Binomial name

   Felis silvestris
   Schreber, 1775

                                 subspecies

   See text

   The wild cat (Felis silvestris), sometimes "wildcat" or "wild-cat"
   especially when distinguishing from other wild species of felines, is a
   small predator native to Europe, the western part of Asia, and Africa.
   It is a hunter of small mammals, birds, and other creatures of a
   similar size. There are several subspecies which occur in different
   world regions, including also the ubiquitous domestic cat (Felis
   silvestris catus), which has been introduced to every habitable
   continent and most of the world's larger islands, and has become feral
   in many of those environments.

   In its native environment, the wild cat is adaptable to a variety of
   habitat types: savanna, open forest, and steppe. Although domesticated
   breeds show a great variety of shapes and colours, wild individuals are
   medium-brown with black stripes, between 50 and 80 cm (20–32 inches) in
   length, and weigh between 3 and 6 kilograms (6–13 pounds). The African
   subspecies tends to be a little smaller and a lighter brown in colour.

   Wild cats are extremely timid. They avoid coming too close to human
   settlements. They live solitarily and hold territories of about 3 km²
   each.

Subspecies

   African subspecies:

          Felis silvestris brockmani (East Africa)
          Felis silvestris cafra (Southern Africa)
          Felis silvestris foxi ( West Africa)
          Felis silvestris griselda ( Central Africa)
          Felis silvestris libyca African wild cat (North Africa)
          Felis silvestris ocreata (East Central Africa)
          Felis silvestris pyrrhus (West Central Africa)

   Asian subspecies:

          Felis silvestris caudata (Caspian Sea area)
          Felis silvestris ornata Indian desert cat (India to Iran)
          Felis silvestris shawiana (China and Mongolia)

   European subspecies:

          Felis silvestris cretensis Cretan wildcat ( Crete) (extinct,
          though some sightings have been reported).
          Felis silvestris caucasia Caucasian wild cat ( Caucasus
          Mountains and Turkey)
          Felis silvestris grampia Scottish wild cat (northern and western
          Scotland)
          Felis silvestris jordansi Balearic wild cat ( Balearic Islands)
          Felis silvestris reyi Corsican wild cat ( Corsica)
          Felis silvestris sarda Sardinia and Sicily wild cats ( Sardinia
          and Sicily)
          Felis silvestris silvestris European wild cat (Europe)
          Felis silvestris tartessia Southern Spanish wild cat ( Iberian
          Peninsula)

   Domestic cat:

          Felis silvestris catus Domestic cat ( cosmopolitan)

European wild cat

   The European wild cat (Felis silvestris silvestris) inhabits forests of
   Western, Central and Eastern Europe, as well as in Scotland and Turkey;
   it is not found in Scandinavia, Iceland, England, Wales, or Ireland.
   Its physical appearance is much bulkier than that of the desert cats
   and domestic cats. The thick fur and size are distinguishing traits; a
   wild cat normally would not be mistaken for a domestic cat. In contrast
   to domestic cats, they are most active in the daytime.

   Wild cats were common in the European Pleistocene era; when the ice
   vanished, they became adapted to a life in dense forests. In most
   European countries they have become very rare. Although legally
   protected, they are still shot by hunters taking them for domestic
   cats. In Scotland, interbreeding with feral cats is also a threat to
   the wild population. It is not known to what extent the interbreeding
   has affected or replaced the wild population, and although some have
   claimed that there are no "pure" wild cats left at all, there is still
   considerable disagreement.

   Two subspecies coexisted in large numbers in the Iberian Peninsula: the
   common European subspecies, F. s. silvestris, north of the Douro and
   Ebro rivers, and the giant Iberian subspecies F. s. tartessia, in the
   rest of the territory. The last is one of the heaviest subspecies of
   Felis silvestris; In his book Pleistocene Mammals of Europe ( 1963),
   palaeontologist Dr. Björn Kurtén noted that this subspecies conserves
   the same size of the form that lived in all Europe during the
   Pleistocene. Although Spain and Portugal are the West European
   countries with the greatest population of wild cats, the animals in
   these region are threatened by breeding with feral cats and loss of
   habitat.

African wild cat

   African wild cat
   Enlarge
   African wild cat

   The African wild cat or desert cat (Felis silvestris libyca) is
   distributed over deserts and savannahs of Africa and the Arabian
   peninsula. It is considerably smaller than the European subspecies and
   has shorter fur. The African wild cat is believed to be the ancestor of
   the domestic cat, since it is tamer than the European wild cats and
   active at night.

   Although some authorities claim that domestication of cats took place
   as early as 8000 BC, the oldest indisputable evidence is Egyptian
   depictions from about 4000 BC. However, a 2004 discovery in
   Shillourokambos, Cyprus provides strong evidence of at least the
   taming, if not domestication, of wild cats circa 7500 BC.

Asiatic wild cat

   The Asiatic wild cat, Asian steppe wild cat or Indian desert cat (Felis
   silvestris ornata) primarily inhabits the Rajasthan desert and in Rann
   of Kutch in India. It is about the size of a domestic cat with a pale
   yellowish body marked with black spots. This is currently an endangered
   species partly due to poaching for its prized skin.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_cat"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
