Nature trail

Felines: small, wild and beautiful - VIII:

The trio living in our country

The small cats we've featured over the past weeks may have fascinated you because even though they all belong to the cat family, they have so many differences that set them apart from each other. The three species we feature today are animals you can see not just in books, television, or at the zoo, but in our very own jungles because all three of them are found in our country.

The jungle cat

It is a medium-sized cat which is distributed over Egypt, West and Central Asia, India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. They live in variable habitats such as savannahs, tropical dry forests and reed beds along the rivers and lakes. It also lives in heights up to 2500 m though it's common in the lowlands.

The jungle cat is also known as the reed cat, swamp cat or the swamp lynx. The latter name has come about as a result of the lynx-like features it has, but it is no relative of the lynx. About 10 subspecies are recognised and the Sri Lankan subspecies is known as Felis chaus kelaarti. In Sinhala, it is called the Wal balala. The jungle cat has been hybridised (crossed) with a domestic cat to produce the breed called 'chausie'.

Depending on the subspecies, the colouration of the fur differs; in the northern parts the ground colour of the coat is greyish-brown while in the southern parts of its range, the jungle cat sports a coat which is yellowish-red. In this cat species, the markings are restricted to the face and legs, vertical bars are visible on the kittens when they are born, but these disappear as they grow.

The underbelly of this cat is white. The tall, rounded ears which have small, lynx-like tufts of hair at the tip giving them a pointed look, are reddish with white central bars on the back. It has a relatively short tail, about 20 cm (8 in) long which is black-tipped and has two to three faint rings on it. It is about 36 cm (14 in) at shoulder height while its length is 70 cm (28 in). The weight varies across the range and is between 4-16 kg (8.8 - 35 lbs). It is generally larger than a domestic cat.

Often seen hunting in broad daylight, it has flexible behaviour. Its diet consists of small mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. It has been seen to make huge, vertical leaps when pursuing birds. It is a good swimmer and is also able to walk long distances in shallow water. Male jungle cats are said to make loud howls resembling a dog's bark in order to attract mates.

The jungle cat is known to find shelter in burrows abandoned by other animals. It may even have a 'den' to hide in case of danger or to use as a place of resting.

After a gestation period of 63-76 days, the female gives birth to a litter of 3-5 kittens usually in a 'nest' of dry reeds lined with fur. At birth, the kittens weigh around 136 gr. Weaned at three months, the kittens are able to stalk and kill prey by the time they are six months. At 18 months, they are fully mature. The young cats are well camouflaged with irregular spots and stripes on the body that blend well with the environment.

Like for most animals, the biggest threat to its existence is man and of course loss of its habitat. Though the cat's coat is not as exquisitely marked as that of a leopard, there is a demand for its coat.

You will be aghast to learn that at least a dozen of these adult cats have to be killed just to make one fur coat!

Rusty-spotted cat

Similar in appearance to the leopard cat, the rusty-spotted cat is considered to be one of the smallest species in the cat family. It competes with the black-footed cat and kodkod as the world's smallest wild cat. Some call it a small, 'washed out' version of the leopard cat.

Its habitat extends to IndoChina, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sumatra and Java. Two subspecies have been recognised, one in India and the other in Sri Lanka. The local cat is known as R. phillipsi and is more brightly coloured than the subcontinental subspecies. The Sri Lankan cat is a true forest dweller.

It is found mostly in humid mountainous regions in the south of the country. It could be seen in altitudes up to about 2,100 metres. In India it is found mostly in tropical dry forests and dry grasslands. In Sri Lanka it could be found even in the coastal belt.

Smaller than the domestic cat, it is slender in shape. It is 50-73 cm (20-29 in) in length and about 20 cm (8 in) in height. It weighs around 1.1-1.6 kg (3-4 lbs). Its round head is marked with two white streaks on the inner edges of the eyes which have irises that are greyish brown or amber.

It also has reddish-brown streaks on the cheeks. The ears are round and short. The back of the ears are black with a small white central spot.

Its tail is more rufous coloured than the body and is unmarked. Its greyish coat is marked with reddish spots which give it its name. These spots which seem as if they are superimposed on the short but soft fur, are arranged over the background colour, in lines along the sides and back. They turn into blotches near the belly. Horizontal bars are visible on the legs and chest. The inner sides are generally white.

This stocky and powerfully built cat has short legs and black soles on its feet. It also has partially webbed paws which it uses to scoop fish and frogs out of water or to swim underwater in pursuit of prey. It attracts fish by lightly tapping the water's surface with the paws or mimicking insects. Then it dives into the water to catch them.

A nocturnal cat, it is an accomplished climber and a swimmer. Its prey include small birds, small mammals, frogs, insects and even domestic chicken.

The fishing cat

It is the largest of the lineage of south and southeast Asian wild cats.

It's distributed in IndoChina, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sumatra and Java. It's found in the Himalayan foothills of India and Nepal and the Valley of the Ganges and Brahmaputra River. It likes to live in thick vegetation associated with watercourses and wetland mangrore forests.

This medium sized wild cat is a heavily and powerfully built animal weighing about 12 kg (26/65 lbs). It reaches a length of 70 cm (28 in) and has a tail which is 30 cm (12 in) long. The short tail is marked with 5-6 black rings and is black-tipped.

Native to river banks, it loves to eat fish but its diet includes birds. It's a nocturnal and solitary hunter which is very much at home in the water, even in deep water, swimming long distances. An opportunistic predator, it goes after birds killed by other animals too.

Its fur coat which is olive-brown coloured and marked with dark stripes has a double-layer of fur so that it won't get wet when in water.

It doesn't have fully covered claw sheaths so its claws are partially visible like that of the cheetah. The elongated claws are semi-retractable too. While the ears are short and round the nose gives a flattened appearance.

It is considered to be a powerful swimmer and an excellent diver. In captivity it has been known to live for up to 15 years, but in general the lifespan in the wild is 12 years. We will bring you more facts about interesting animals in the wild and also the various species of lynx in our future issues.

The next time you go to the zoo, see what you could learn about the small wild cats found there.