Far Eastern cat (leopard cat): description, habitat, food

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:48

A wild Far Eastern cat has feline relatives living in warm countries. Probably, his ancestors got into the taiga in an incredible way, or it used to be much warmer here, and after the cold snap they had to adapt to harsh weather conditions.

Handsome leopard cat: spots and coloration

No wonder the wild inhabitant is called a leopard cat. It is distinguished by a beautiful leopard coloring, which speaks without words about its predatory disposition. The researchers were able to classify the animal, it was assigned to a subspecies of the Bengal tropical cat from the genus of Asian cats. Although it is larger than its southern relatives, one can often see an outstanding specimen with a body length of up to a meter.

Far Eastern cat: description, external data

Leopard cat in general characteristics reaches a body length of 75-90 centimeters, and a fluffy tail - about 37 centimeters. The head is small and the legs are quite long. On the head are small ears, devoid of tassels, which makes it possible not to confuse the cat with its other, moredangerous relatives. The eyes are close-set and located close to each other. The forest predator has sharp and long fangs, and the claws are short, but extremely strong.

Has soft, fluffy hairline. Network hairs in the back area reach 49 millimeters, so the cat has adapted well to life in the frosty conditions of the taiga. The main color of six is grayish-yellow or grayish-brown with spots of dark red. All spots are blurred and uneven in color. The color of the sides gradually lightens towards the belly. On the back, the color is much darker than on the sides. Three brown stripes are clearly visible on it, which were formed from elongated stretched spots. In some cases, the spots begin to merge into a longitudinal belt.

There are several smoky-rusty stripes in the throat area of the animal, there are transverse lines of rusty color on the front paws. The cat has a whitish belly with a yellow tinge. The specks are similar to Chinese coins, which is why the Chinese call this species the "money cat". Two whitish stripes stretch from the inner corners of the eyes along the forehead and crown, between them they notice another red line that runs from the nose to the forehead and further to the neck. The tail can be not only one-color, but also have a dark gray color, where up to seven grayish rings are noticeable. At the tip, the tail turns into a richer gray or black.

Lifestyle

The Far Eastern cat is characterized by a nocturnal and twilight lifestyle. He is distinguished by fearfulness and caution, it is quite difficult to see him. Prefersset up an ambush, where he expects prey. Hiding in trees or on the ground, the victim overtakes in one jump. During the winter cold, it moves down from the snow-capped mountains to the lake and river valleys. The tops of wooded hills are also attractive, where the snow is denser and blown away by gusts of wind.

Staying during the freezing cold

When severe frosts come, it begins to descend to human habitats to hunt rodents in dilapidated buildings. When danger is felt, it hides in the crowns of trees. Finds shelter in large hollows of trees and among the crevices of rocks overgrown with shrubs. Does not disdain old badger and fox holes. For convenience, leaves and dry grass are applied to the hollow. Perfectly climbs trees and rocks, knows how to swim. The Amur forest cat arranges several secluded places on its territory, where it systematically enters. In winter, hides in one of the most comfortable lairs.

Habitats

Where does the Far Eastern cat live? It is endemic, that is, it cannot be found anywhere else except the Far East. He loves to settle and hunt along the entire length of the Amur River, near Lakes Khasan and Khanka, along the shores of the Sea of Japan. Most of all, he likes the living conditions in nature reserves: Ussuriysky, Khankaysky, Lazovsky and Kedrovaya Pad. The cat is attracted by sufficient remoteness from human settlements, and not by the danger of falling prey to hunters. After all, he was never hunted inindustrial purposes.

The animal also hunts on the Japanese islands. Therefore, it received another name - "Tsushima's leopard cat".

Grassy floodplains, mixed and deciduous forests are most suitable for the settlement of a wild cat. A little less often, you can meet him among the taiga, although his fluffy skin has been noticed there more than once. In Primorye, he hides among dense shrubs and reed lowlands, which are located along the banks of lakes and oxbow lakes. Locals often confuse the animal with a reed cat, but this is an incorrect information. This is the name of a completely different representative of the cat family, although their habitat and living conditions are very similar. The Far Eastern leopard cat masters rocks perfectly, but does not climb higher mountains. The reason is the thick cover of snow that accumulates between the rocks. The predator can successfully hunt if the snow thickness is no more than 40 centimeters.

When winter begins and everything is covered with snow, the Amur cat is forced to hide in its nest. The Far Eastern cat sits there until the snow turns into a hard, frozen crust that can support its weight. Only lactating cats and those animals that did not manage to get food before the blizzard come out to hunt in the snow.

Food preference

Amur cat eats small rodents: voles and mice. Sometimes he can catch a waterfowl. Among the mountains it hunts for squirrels, from birds - for partridges, pheasants and partridges. In the floodplains it hunts ducks and shepherd birds, muskrats andwater rats. Leopard cats during the breeding season of birds begin to ruin their nests, eat eggs and fledglings. The predator successfully catches the hares. During the period of low water in the floodplains, it catches small fish and crayfish for food.

Feeding in captivity

In captivity, the predator is fed lean meats. But without living food (mice and rats) it is difficult to keep the animal in shape and maintain the ability to reproduce. When deprived of live food, the Amur leopard cat begins to get bored, while behavioral features become dull. It is typical for a predator to consume not only meat, but also the entrails, the contents of the intestines and part of the skin with feathers and wool. To ensure a full exchange, they offer to eat fish once a week. With an excess of fish food, calcium begins to be washed out of the body, which will subsequently lead to the development of rickets.

Features of hunting

For a forest cat is a characteristic desire to hunt, which is in his blood. Without fear, he can attack cubs of large ungulates - chamois, roe deer, domestic and wild goats. In the areas of accumulation of hamsters and rats, the cat also feeds them well. Although even dogs are afraid to come close to such aggressive rodents. If there are nutria farms nearby, a cautious hunter will also willingly pull out young animals.

A wild leopard cat starts hunting a couple of hours before sunset. In the middle of the night, he sleeps a little in order to catch the unlucky victim at dawn. Chases rodents in pairsjumps up to 3 meters long. If the first roll fails, no further pursuit will follow.

When capturing small rodents, ambush near a hole or in a stone gorge. In floodplains, it sits on the branches of a tree, inclined by long branches to the water. He catches a duck swimming under him with his paw or throws himself on her back. When chasing a squirrel, it climbs the highest trees, where it begins to jump from branch to branch, like a marten.

When there is a lot of food, the cat is too voracious. A 2 month old baby can eat 10 mice a day. In captivity, an adult animal consumes up to 900 grams of meat. When eating food, he sits down on his hind legs and hunches a little, although he does not put his front paws on the ground. Uses side teeth when biting meat.

Mating season

Far Eastern cat is an individualist. He prefers to live and go hunting alone. Only in the spring he begins to take care of finding a couple. From the beginning of the March days, forest thickets resound with drawn-out cries, thanks to which males try to call females. Pregnancy in an animal lasts 65-70 days. In the last days of May, one or two kittens are born. The largest number of newborns is considered to be four babies. All of them are blind, their eyes open after ten days, and their weight does not exceed 80 grams.

It will take a couple of months, and little hunters will show up from the lair to start exploring the nearby thickets. Mom is sensitively watching the kids, at the slightest danger, she begins to transfer them by the scruff of the neck intoa safer place.