#757: Tiger

The Tiger is the largest of the Felid Family, with the Siberian subspecies reaching 3.38 m  in length. It is he who is truly the King of the Jungle, and he once roamed the forests as far north as Siberia and as far south as Bali. Now his range is more restricted and fragmented due to hunting and deforestation. He is solitary, but his range often overlaps that of several females, and will sometimes even share his kills with them (and they with him). His favoured food is medium-sized ungulates, especially deer. An ambush predator, he lies in wait and uses his size and strength to disable the prey, before dispatching it with a bite to the throat.

#693: Serval

The Serval is a medium-sized feline, found in the savannahs of Africa. She is characterised by her long legs. These are ideal for helping her find prey in the long grasses. Her elongated foot bones  allow her to attain speeds of up to 80 km/hr and assist her in jumping. She is capable of leaping 3 m vertically, allowing her to snatch birds in flight. Serval are capable predators - about 50% of their hunts result in kills.

They are sometimes kept as exotic pets in America, and have been hybridised with domestic cats to produce the Savannah Cat. Being intelligent and large, Serval and Savannah Cats do not make the most easily handled of pets and are banned in some countries.

Creature Feature #568: Pallas Cat

The Pallas Cat is a distinct and very furry feline. He can be found in the grasslands and montane steppes of central Asia. Like most cats, he leads a solitary existence, preying on pika, rodents and ground birds. Due to his cold habitat, the breeding season is very short. Females give birth to up to six kittens in a den lined with vegetation and fur. Even in captivity, the mortality rate of kittens is high - around 45%.

Creature Feature #401: Feral Cat

Today's critter is more-or-less by popular request, and also because I needed an "invasive pest" to introduce into the forest portion of my TCG. Hence why we are dropping out of the alphabet, temporarily.

A Feral Cat is not just a domestic cat that is living wild, and it is not a stray - when a cat truly "goes feral" she is like an actual wild animal. She has never been socialised with humans. This probably means that her ancestors were strays. Feral Cats can be found in urban environments, as well as woodlands, temperate forests and open countries - anywhere there is relevant prey. Whilst in urban areas and some suburban, she can do little harm, it is isolated habitats that suffer the most impact from her introduction. Many islands are home to birds and small mammals, but may lack in mammalian predators, and for these the addition of this feline - an apex predator - spelled disaster. The extinction of six New Zealand bird species can be attributed to cats. The most well known of which is the Stephen Islands Wren. A tiny bird, almost flightless, and the entire population lived on one small island. There are tales that suggest one cat was responsible, but it is more likely that it was a plague of feral cats, some related to the lighthouse keeper's cat who was probably not called Tibbles) or otherwise dumped on the island. Within a few months the birds were gone.

Domestic cats are interesting in that they are one of the few sociable cat species. Unlike their ancestors, the European wild cat, they will share territory, although unneutered males will fight for dominance. A colony of cats is called a clowder. In some countries, like New Zealand and Australia (where the felines have had a detrimental impact on native mammals) there is talk of banning cats, and hunting ferals is encouraged. However, many people adore our feline companions, even the ones that utterly shun human contact, and the idea of killing cats is anathema. Some countries, including New Zealand, run a trap-neuter-release program, in which ferals are captured, neutered and then returned to their initial habitat. This means that the cat can no longer breed, but can still kill millions of birds, reptiles and bats before eventually sucuumbing to disease, injury or death-by-auto. Sometimes feeding stations are set up in which volunteers feed the half-starved felines. Needless to say, there is a lot of controversy surrounding such projects.

Creature Feature #236: Fishing Cat

The stocky and muscular Fishing Cat makes his home in South and Southeast Asia. His favoured habitat is wetlands, and true to his name, his main diet is fish. He will sit at the water's edge and tap gently on the surface with one paw, mimicking the movements of insects. When fish are lured to the surface, he scoops them out or dives in after them. He is a skilled swimming, capable of swimming considerate distances, even beneath the water. Solitary in nature, he only comes in contact with the females to mate, which can happen at any time during the year. Cubs are raised in a den made in a thicket of reeds, wtih the kittens venturing out after about a month and shortly after will begin playing in the water.