Small cats in big trouble: Why we need to save these elusive endangered species

Small cats in big trouble: Why we need to save these elusive endangered species

Subject: Environment

Section: Species in news

Context:

• In Scotland, the population of the country’s wildcats (Felis silvestrissilvestris) has dwindled so much they’re now considered functionally extinct.

Details:

• There are fewer than 30 Scottish wildcats, also known as the Highland tiger, left in the wild.
• Conservationists are rushing to save the species through a reintroduction programme set to kick off later this year.
• A combination of habitat loss, persecution and hybridisation with domestic cats drove the species to its current crisis point.
• It can be seen as a possible indicator of looming ecosystem collapse: The United Kingdom is one of the most nature-depleted places on Earth.

Small cats:

• Small cats range in size from South Asia’s diminutive rusty-spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus), which, at 0.8-1.6 kilograms (1.8-3.5 pounds), is the world’s smallest wild felid; to the far larger two species of clouded leopard (Neofelisdiardi and N. nebulosa). Weighing in at up to 23 kg (50 lbs), clouded leopards are often referred to as modern-day saber-toothed tigers and ambiguously classified as “big small cats” by some or “small big cats” by others.
• Their habitats ranges from deserts and savanna grasslands to tropical and temperate forests, enlivening alpine heights and low coastal wetlands as well as human-dominated agricultural landscapes.
• In south Aisa these small cants mostly prey on rodents, so maintaining “biological pest controllers” of this kind can enable farmers to reduce the use of harmful chemical pesticides and cut agricultural costs.
• Threats include:
  • habitat loss and fragmentation,
  • persecution due to human-wildlife conflict,
  • climate change,
  • diseases spread by domestic animals,
  • the risk of becoming road kill and
  • pollution including plastics ingestion in some cases.
• Conservation status:
• Of the more than 30 small cat species, a dozenare currently considered threatened or endangered by the IUCN, including
  • the African golden cat (Caracal aurata),
  • Andean cat (Leopardusjacobita),
  • Borneo bay cat (Catopumabadia),
  • Black-footed cat (Felis negripes),
  • Chinese mountain cat (F. bieti),
  • fishing cat (P. viverrinus),
  • Flat-headed cat (P. planiceps),
  • Guiña (L. guigna),
  • the northern and southern tiger cat (L. tigrinus and L. guttulus) and
  • both species of clouded leopard.

About the Highland Cat (Felis silvestrissilvestris):

• The European wildcat (Felis silvestris) is a small wildcat speciesnative to continental Europe, Scotland, Turkey and the Caucasus.
• It inhabits forests from the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, Central and Eastern Europe to the Caucasus.
• Its fur is brownish to grey with stripes on the forehead and on the sides and has a bushy tail with a black tip.
• It reaches a head-to-body length of up to 65 cm (26 in) with a 34.5 cm (13.6 in) long tail, and weighs up to 7.5 kg (17 lb).
• In France and Italy, the European wildcat is predominantly nocturnal, but also active in the daytime when undisturbed by human activities.
• It preys foremost on small mammals such as lagomorphs and rodents, but also on ground-dwelling birds.

Role in the ecological system:

• The Highland cat, along with small cats plays a key ecological role by controlling small mammal populations in their natural habitats.
• Many cats, though maligned, also aid farmers by reducing rodents.
• In Scotland, the cat’s return could also boost local economies through activities such as wildlife observation and ecotourism.

About Fishing cats

• Scientific Name : (Prionailurus viverrinus)
• Description : Fishing cats are almost twice the size of the house cat.
• The fishing cat is an adept swimmer and enters water frequently to prey on fish as its name suggests.
• The fishing cat is nocturnal and apart from fish also preys on frogs, crustaceans, snakes, birds, and scavenges on carcasses of larger animals.
• Habitat :
  • They occur in wetlands like marshlands, mangroves and flooded forests in major South and Southeast Asian River basins starting from Indus in Pakistan till Mekong in Vietnam and in the island nations of Sri Lanka and Java.
  • In India, fishing cats are mainly found in the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, on the foothills of the Himalayas along the Ganga and Brahmaputra River valleys and in the Western Ghats.
• Conservation Status: IUCN Red List :Endangered
• The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) lists the fishing cat on Appendix II part of Article IV of CITES, which governs international trade in this species.
• In India, the fishing cat is included in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and thereby protected from hunting.