Jungle cat

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Jungle cat
Indian jungle cat

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: Felis
Species:
F. chaus
Binomial name
Felis chaus
Schreber, 1777
Subspecies
  • Felis chaus affinis Gray, 1830
  • Felis chaus chaus Schreber, 1777
  • Felis chaus fulvidina Thomas, 1928
Map of the Eastern Hemisphere showing highlighted range covering portions of southern Asia
Distribution of the jungle cat in 2016[1]
Synonyms[2]
List

The jungle cat (Felis chaus), also called reed cat, swamp cat and jungle lynx,

Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, and is mainly threatened by destruction of wetlands, trapping and poisoning.[1]

The jungle cat has a uniformly sandy, reddish-brown or grey fur without spots;

albino
individuals are also known. It is solitary in nature, except during the mating season and mother-kitten families.

Adults maintain

oestrus from January to March. Mating behaviour is similar to that in the domestic cat: the male pursues the female in oestrus, seizes her by the nape of her neck and mounts her. Gestation
lasts nearly two months. Births take place between December and June, though this might vary geographically. Kittens begin to catch their own prey at around six months and leave the mother after eight or nine months.

The species was first

described by Johann Anton Güldenstädt in 1776 based on a specimen caught in a Caucasian wetland.[4] Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber gave the jungle cat its present binomial name and is therefore generally considered as binomial authority. Three subspecies are recognised at present.[5]

Taxonomy and phylogeny

Taxonomic history

Illustration of the jungle cat by Joseph Smit, 1874
Illustration by Joseph Smit, 1892

The

Catherine II of Russia.[6] He described this specimen in 1776 under the name "Chaus".[4][7]

In 1778,

binomen and therefore improper, and that "chaus" was used as a common name rather than as part of the scientific name.[9]

In the 1820s,

Dehra Dun in northern India in 1844 under the name Felis jacquemontii in memory of Victor Jacquemont.[14]

In 1836, Brian Houghton Hodgson proclaimed the red-eared cat commonly found in Nepal to be a lynx and therefore named it Lynchus erythrotus;[15] Edward Frederick Kelaart described the first jungle cat skin from Sri Lanka in 1852 and stressed upon its close resemblance to Hodgson's red cat.[16] William Thomas Blanford pointed out the lynx-like appearance of cat skins and skulls from the plains around Yarkant County and Kashgar when he described Felis shawiana in 1876.[17]

generic name Catolynx in 1858,[18] followed by Leopold Fitzinger's suggestion to call it Chaus catolynx in 1869.[19] In 1898, William Edward de Winton proposed to subordinate the specimens from the Caucasus, Persia and Turkestan to Felis chaus typica, and regrouped the lighter built specimens from the Indian subcontinent to F. c. affinis. He renamed the Egyptian jungle cat as F. c. nilotica because Felis rüppelii was already applied to a different cat. A skin collected near Jericho in 1864 led him to describe a new subspecies, F. c. furax, as this skin was smaller than other Egyptian jungle cat skins.[20] A few years later, Alfred Nehring also described a jungle cat skin collected in Palestine, which he named Lynx chrysomelanotis.[21] Reginald Innes Pocock reviewed the nomenclature of felids in 1917 and classified the jungle cat group as part of the genus Felis.[22] Another subspecies, Felis chaus fulvidina, was named by Oldfield Thomas in 1928.[23]

During an expedition to

natural historian Ellerman and zoologist Morrison-Scott tentatively subordinated the Maimanah cat skin as a subspecies of Felis chaus.[28]

In 1969, the Russian biologist Heptner described a jungle cat from the lower course of the

Vakhsh River in Central Asia and proposed the name Felis (Felis) chaus oxiana.[3]

In the 1930s, Pocock reviewed the jungle cat skins and skulls from

Sind as F. c. prateri, and skins with shorter coats from Sri Lanka and southern India as F. c. kelaarti.[29]

Classification

In 2005, the authors of Mammal Species of the World recognized 10 subspecies as valid taxa.[2] Since 2017, the Cat Specialist Group considers only three subspecies as valid. Geographical variation of the jungle cat is not yet well understood and needs to be examined.[5] The following table is based on the classification of the species provided in Mammal Species of the World. It also shows the synonyms used in the revision of the Cat Classification Task Force:

Subspecies Synonymous with Distribution
Felis chaus chaus Schreber, 1777
  • F. c. furax de Winton, 1898
  • F. c. nilotica de Winton, 1898
  • F. c. maimanah Zukowsky, 1915
  • F. c. oxiana Heptner, 1969
 Caucasus,
Gissar Valley and slightly beyond Dushanbe.[3]
Felis chaus affinis Gray, 1830
  • F. c. kutas Pearson, 1832
  • F. c. kelaarti Pocock, 1939
  • F. c. prateri Pocock, 1939
  • F. c. valbalala Deraniyagala, 1955
 South Asia:
Kutch and Yunnan, southern India and Sri Lanka[30]
Felis chaus fulvidina Thomas, 1929 Southeast Asia: ranging from Myanmar and Thailand to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam[30]

Phylogeny

In 2006, the

phylogenetic relationship of the jungle cat was described as follows:[32][33]

  Felinae  
      
  Acinonyx  

Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)

    Puma     

Cougar (P. concolor)

Jaguarundi (P. yagouaroundi)

    Felis    

Jungle cat (F. chaus)

Black-footed cat (F. nigripes)

Sand cat (F. margarita)

  wildcats  

European wildcat (F. silvestris silvestris)

Domestic cat
(F. catus)

Chinese mountain cat (F. bieti)

African wildcat (F. silvestris lybica)

  Prionailurus  

Leopard cat (P. bengalensis)

Sunda leopard cat (P. javanensis)

Flat-headed cat (P. planiceps)

Fishing cat (P. viverrinus)

Rusty-spotted cat (P. rubiginosus)

  Otocolobus  

Pallas's cat (O. manul)

The jungle cat is a member of the

genus Felis within the family Felidae.[2]

Results of an

mtDNA analysis of 55 jungle cats from various biogeographic zones in India indicate a high genetic variation and a relatively low differentiation between populations. It appears that the central Indian F. c. kutas population separates the Thar F. c. prateri populations from the rest and also the south Indian F. c. kelaarti populations from the north Indian F. c. affinis ones. The central Indian populations are genetically closer to the southern than to the northern populations.[34]

Characteristics

A close view of a jungle cat F. c. affinis. Note the plain coat and the dark-tipped hairs.

The jungle cat is a medium-sized, long-legged cat, and the largest of the extant Felis species.

pupils; white lines can be seen around the eye. Dark lines run from the corner of the eyes down the sides of the nose and a dark patch marks the nose.[37][38][40] The skull is fairly broad in the region of the zygomatic arch; hence the head of this cat appears relatively rounder.[3]

The

domestic cat.[42]

Distribution and habitat

A jungle cat in the Sundarbans, India
Female at side of road near Thol Bird Sanctuary, Gujarat, India

The jungle cat is found in the Middle East, the Caucasus, the Indian subcontinent, central and Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka and in southern China.[1][43][40] A

littoral and riparian areas, grasslands and shrub. It is common in agricultural lands, such as fields of bean and sugarcane, across its range, and has often been sighted near human settlements. As reeds and tall grasses are typical of its habitat, it is known as "reed cat" or "swamp cat".[44][42] It can thrive even in areas of sparse vegetation, but does not adapt well to cold climates and is rare in areas where snowfall is common.[35] Historical records indicate that it occurs up to elevations of 2,310 m (7,580 ft) in the Himalayas.[29] It shuns rainforests and woodlands.[35][36][42]

In Turkey, it has been recorded in wetlands near Manavgat, in the Akyatan Lagoon on the southern coast and near Lake Eğirdir.[45][46] In the Palestinian territories, it was recorded in the Nablus, Ramallah, Jericho and Jerusalem Governorates in the West Bank during surveys carried out between 2012 and 2016.[47]

In Iran, it inhabits a variety of habitat types from plains and agriculture lands to mountains ranging from elevations of 45 to 4,178 m (148 to 13,707 ft) in at least 23 of 31 provinces of Iran.[48] In Pakistan, it was photographed in Haripur, Dera Ismail Khan, Sialkot Districts and Langh Lake Wildlife Sanctuary.[49]

In India, it is the most common small wild cat.[39] In Nepal, it was recorded in alpine habitat at elevations of 3,000–3,300 m (9,800–10,800 ft) in Annapurna Conservation Area between 2014 and 2016.[50]

In Malaysia, it was recorded in a highly fragmented forest in the Selangor state in 2010.[51]

A few jungle cat

mummies were found among the cats in ancient Egypt.[52][53][54]

Ecology and behaviour

The jungle cat rests during the hot midday hours.

The jungle cat is typically

scent marking; some males have been observed rubbing their cheeks on objects to mark them.[38][35]

parasites such as Haemaphysalis ticks and Heterophyes trematode species.[56]

Diet and hunting

The posture in which the jungle cat stalks its prey

Primarily a carnivore, the jungle cat prefers small mammals such as gerbils, hares and rodents. It also hunts birds, fishes, frogs, insects and small snakes. Its prey typically weighs less than 1 kg (2.2 lb), but occasionally includes mammals as large as young gazelles.[38][35] The jungle cat is unusual in that it is partially omnivorous: it eats fruits, especially in winter. In a study carried out in Sariska Tiger Reserve, rodents were found to comprise as much as 95% of its diet.[57]

The jungle cat hunts by stalking its prey, followed by a sprint or a leap; the sharp ears help in pinpointing the location of prey. It uses different techniques to secure prey. The cat has been observed searching for

musk rats in their holes. Like the caracal, the jungle cat can perform one or two high leaps into the air to grab birds.[35] It is an efficient climber as well.[3] The jungle cat has been clocked at 32 km/h (20 mph).[36][35] It is an efficient swimmer, and can swim up to 1.5 km (0.93 mi) in water and plunge into water to catch fish.[58]

Reproduction

Both sexes become

dominance. Mating behaviour is similar to that in the domestic cat: the male pursues the female in oestrus, seizes her by the nape of her neck and mounts her. Vocalisations and flehmen are prominent during courtship. After a successful copulation, the female gives out a loud cry and reacts with aversion towards her partner. The pair then separate.[3][38]

Gestation lasts nearly two months. Births take place between December and June, though this might vary geographically. Before parturition, the mother prepares a den of grass in an abandoned animal burrow, hollow tree or reed bed.[35] Litters comprise one to five kittens, typically two to three kittens. Females can raise two litters in a year.[3][38] Kittens weigh between 43 and 55 g (1.5 and 1.9 oz) at birth, tending to be much smaller in the wild than in captivity. Initially blind and helpless, they open their eyes at 10 to 13 days of age and are fully weaned by around three months. Males usually do not participate in the raising of kittens; however, in captivity, males appear to be very protective of their offspring. Kittens begin to catch their own prey at around six months and leave the mother after eight or nine months.[3][59] The lifespan of the jungle cat in captivity is 15 to 20 years; this is possibly higher than that in the wild.[38]

Generation length of the jungle cat is 5.2 years.[60]

Threats

A jungle cat in the Olmense Zoo, Belgium

Major threats to the jungle cat include

urbanisation. Illegal hunting is a threat in Turkey and Iran. Its rarity in Southeast Asia is possibly due to high levels of hunting.[1]
Since the 1960s, populations of the Caucasian jungle cat living along the
Yarmouk and Jordan rivers, where farmers hunted and poisoned jungle cats in retaliation for attacking poultry.[62] It is also considered rare and threatened in Afghanistan.[63] India exported jungle cat skins in large numbers, until this trade was banned in 1979; some illegal trade continues in the country, in Egypt and Afghanistan.[1]

In the 1970s, Southeast Asian jungle cats still used to be the most common wild cats near villages in certain parts of northern

critically endangered.[65] In Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, jungle cats have been subject to extensive hunting. Skins are occasionally recorded in border markets, and live individuals, possibly taken from Myanmar or Cambodia, occasionally turn up in the Khao Khieo and Chiang Mai zoos of Thailand.[66]

Conservation

The jungle cat is listed under

CITES Appendix II. Hunting is prohibited in Bangladesh, China, India, Israel, Myanmar, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Thailand and Turkey. But it does not receive legal protection outside protected areas in Bhutan, Georgia, Laos, Lebanon, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.[44]

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External links
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