The list of wild cats is vast and varied. You probably already know about the most famous of the wild cats, such as lions, tigers, cheetahs and leopards. But I thought I’d take some time to tell you about a few wild cats that you might not have heard of before.
For example, take the caracal. The caracal, also known as the African Lynx or the Deser
t Lynx, is found in northern Africa, the Arabian peninsula, and southwestern Asia. They are one of the largest “small” wild cats, and their relatively small bodies are very stocky. Males are about 2 feet long (plus another foot for their tails), and they weigh in at an average of 28-50 pounds. Caracals look somewhat like a cougar - their bodies are usually reddish-brown, and they have white chins, throats, and underbellies. By far their most distinctive feature is their ears. A caracal’s ears are long, tufted and tinged with black. (The name Caracal actually comes from the Turkish word for “black ear” – karakulak.) These ears are one of their most important assets for hunting – each one is controlled by 20 muscles, allowing them to pivot and pinpoint prey. Like all cats, caracals are strict carnivores, subsisting on rodents, birds and small deer. They are nocturnal and highly territorial, which means that they are very difficult to find in the wild. However, they are relatively easy to tame, and there are numerous examples of pet caracals that have been raised from kittenhood by humans.Another relatively obscure wild cat is the serval. Servals are considered medium-sized wild cats; though their weight is comparable with the caracal (20-45 pounds), their bodies are significantly longer (3 feet in length, plus a foot and a half for the tail). This makes them very slender animals, an image assisted by the fact that they have one of the longest legs in the cat family. (
That, though, is due to really long feet rather than legs). Like leopards, servals have tawny-gold bodies marked with round, black spots. In general, these spots tend to be large, and merge into stripes on their necks and backs. Servals are excellent hunters, especially of rodents. Small mammals, in fact, make up approximately 90% of their diets. This includes squirrels, hares, and mole rats, though they will also eat lizards, snakes, frogs and birds. When a serval is hunting, it prowls slowly through grasslands, pausing for as long as 15 minutes at a time to listen for prey. When they find something, they leap high with all four feet off the ground, then pounce on their victim, stunning it with a blow from their forefeet. If they miss, they will repeat the process (at the risk of looking somewhat like a wind-up toy). They don’t miss very often, though. One of every two pounces by a serval results in the capture of prey – making it one of the most effective feline hunters.A wild cat that I particularly like is called the Fishing Cat. Fishing cats are native to Indochina, Pakistan, India, and southeast Asia, including the islands of Java and Sumatra. They live in densely vegetated areas near water, such as marshes, mangroves, rivers and streams. This is a fairly small cat, weighing 15-25 pounds and measuring 2 to 3 feet long, with short tails.
Their legs are very short and their heads very broad, giving them a very stocky appearance. They tend to be olive-gray in color, and have dark spots roughly arranged in stripes along their bodies. Fishing cats, as you might have guessed, eat mostly fish. Because of that, they do not have the same dread of water that most cats do – in fact, they dive into water to catch them! A fishing cat will tap their paws on the surface of the water, mimicking insect movement. When a fish comes close, the fishing cat will then dive in after it. They will also eat other aquatic animals, like frogs, snakes, and crustaceans. When a fishing cat is swimming, it can use its short tail like a rudder, helping it turn suddenly to catch their prey. In addition, their webbed paws can act like oars, or also give them extra traction in the mud. They are probably one of the few cats I have seen who don’t look completely bedraggled when wet!The final wild cat of the day is the Margay. Margays are also known as tree ocelots or long tailed spotted
cats, and are native to Central and South America. Their fur is patterned much like an ocelot: a yellow-brown body covered with black spots and whorls, as well as white underbellies. They are one of the smallest cats in the cat family, only weighing 4-6 pounds and measuring 1.5 to 2.5 feet long (with an extra foot for the tails). These are also the most accomplished climbers of all cats, too. Their light bodies and strong paws help in that, as do their specially adapted claws and ankle joints. These can rotate 180 degrees, which allows them to move almost like monkeys through tree branches – including running down trunks head first, crawling along the underside of branches, or hanging from a branch with 1 leg!I think it’s fun to compare traits of wild cats with my 2 housecats. Like caracals and servals, both of my cats like to stalk their “prey” (though, since they are indoor cats, their prey consists mostly of catnip-stuffed mice). They have also been known to pounce with a wild, all-4-feet-in-the-air jump. However, unlike fishing cats, they absolutely hate being wet (baths are a particularly unpleasant time for them). And they are nowhere near as coordinated as a margay. In fact, they have been known to fall off the couch from time to time, so I definitely would not trust them in a tree!
The pictures I posted here are from the following websites:
Caracal: http://wildfeline.tripod.com/african_cats.htm
Serval: http://www.vulkaner.no/n/africa/somaliwildlife-n.html
Fishing Cat: http://www.bigcatrescue.org/fishing_cat_photos.htm
Margay: http://www.guyana.org/Guyana_Photo_Gallery/animals/animals2.html
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