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Chinese Desert (or Mountain) Cat - Felis bieti
Topic Started: Jan 7 2012, 08:07 PM (2,729 Views)
Taipan
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Chinese Desert (or Mountain) Cat - Felis bieti

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Geographic Range
Felis bieti, more commonly known as the Chinese desert cat, resides most frequently in the north-eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau in China. It has also been seen in Qinghai provice and in the mountains of southern Gansu and northern Sichuan. This species has occasionally been seen in flatter, more desert-like terrain (Cat Specialist Group of IUCN 1996).

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Habitat
Chinese desert cats have been reported living in the Datong and Daban mountains around Xining, at elevations ranging from 2,800 m to 4,100 m. Preferred habitat for this felid is mountainous areas where cover is available, usually in the form of sparse trees and shrubs. They typically occupy alpine meadows and scrub, although they may occur marginally in deserts. They are most often reported at high elevations near the western borderlands of China and Tibet (Alderton 1993; Cat Specialist Group of IUCN 1996).

Physical Description
Mass - 6 kg (average) (13.2 lbs)

Chinese desert cats are fairly large in size compared to the common domestic cat. Head and body length ranges from 68 cm to 84 cm and tail length ranges from 29 cm to 35 cm. They have a stocky build with relatively short legs. The coat is yellowish gray in winter, and darker brown in summer. Distinctive markings consist of horizontal stripes on the sides of the body and legs, and distinct brown streaks across each cheek. The tail is also striped with 5-6 dark gray bands and has a black tip. The ears are yellowish brown on the outside; the tips specked with short hairs measuring 2 cm in length. This felid has hairy tufts growing between the pads of its feet (Cat Specialist Group of IUCN 1996; Guggisberg 1975; Lumpkin and Seidensticker 1991).

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Reproduction
Mating season for this species runs from January to March and the litters are usually born in May. An average litter size is 2-4 offspring. The age of independence, when the young leaves its mother, is 7-8 months (Cat Specialist Group of IUCN 1996).

Behavior
Chinese desert cats are primarily nocturnal. They are reported to be active from dusk till dawn while in captivity and in the early morning and evening in the wild. They are not social animals, and have not been shown to travel in packs. Males and females live separately. Burrows inhabited by females are deeper and more secure than those of males, and have only one entrance. Nothing is known of male's burrows (Cat Specialist Group of IUCN 1996; Guggisberg 1975).

Food Habits
Chinese desert cats typically eat rodents, such as mole-rats, pikas, and white-tailed voles. They also have been known to catch birds, including pheasants. In past research, it was discovered that they hunt for mole rats by listening for them as they move through their subterranean tunnels 3-5 cm below the surface. Chinese desert cats then dig the moles out of the ground. These cats have large auditory bullae, large ears, and ear tufts, suggesting that these cats rely greatly on hearing for locating prey (Alderton 1993; Cat Specialist Group of IUCN 1996).

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
None known.

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
It is likely that these cats manage populations of small rodents in the areas they inhabit.

Conservation Status
IUCN Red List: Vulnerable.
US Federal List: Threatened .
CITES:Appendix II.
These animals are currently protected in China under their classification as a CITES Appendix II species. The Cat Specialist Group in Beijing recently tried to upgrade them to Category I, which would require permission of national authorities to hunt or trade. Pelts of this felid can be found in markets in Xining although it is unlikely that hunting efforts specifically target the animal. A principle threat to the Chinese desert cat has been large poisoning campaigns conducted in China against pikas, one of their principal prey species. These campaigns were created "in an attempt to control 'pest' populations of pikas, which are viewed as competitors of domestic livestock for graze." One of the main chemicals used was zinc phosphide until 1978, when it was discontinued because it was found that it also killed carnivores who preyed on the pikas. Control programs that use poisonous chemicals continue throughout much of the desert cat's range and have eliminated pikas from large areas (Cat Specialist Group of IUCN 1996).

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Other Comments
Despite their common name, Chinese desert cats are rarely found in desert areas. Chinese specialists, meeting in Beijing in 1992, suggested that Felis bieti be described as Chinese mountain cats, their other common name. These cats primarily feed on rodents in mountainous areas. They rely on their large auditory bullae to listen for and locate their prey. Little has been documented about this species, however it is known to range up to an altitude of 4,000 m. It has been reported that after chasing one of these felids, a dog came back with attack wounds and bite marks (Alderton 1993; Cat Specialist Group of IUCN 1996).

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Felis_bieti.html

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Taipan
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First Photos of Rare Chinese Wildcat Unveiled

Dave Hansford
for National Geographic News

September 14, 2007

One of the world's most elusive predators has finally stepped into the limelight.

High on the Tibetan Plateau, the body heat of a rare Chinese mountain cat recently reached a remote sensor, triggering an automated research camera.

The images—the first pictures of the mountain cat taken in the wild—may finally reveal some of the secretive habits that have kept the creature a mystery for nearly a century.

Jim Sanderson, a cat specialist with the Wildlife Conservation Network, worked with a group of Tibetan assistants to set the camera trap near the village of Rongrah in a remote region of northeastern Sichuan Province in China (see map).

The team chose the location after hearing about sightings of the small, stocky cat by local villagers.

Amid photos of badgers and marmots, Sanderson's team eventually secured eight pictures of one of the world's least known felines.

The project was supported by the Regina Bauer Frankenberg Foundation for Animal Welfare and Conservation International-China.

"Pest" Control

The Chinese mountain cat had never really been researched in the wild, Sanderson said. No one knows its conservation status, although it is generally considered to be rare.

It was the last cat species to be described by biologists, who in 1892 misnamed it the "desert cat"—highlighting just how little was known about its habitat and distribution.

Recent surveys now suggest that the feline might be confined to the northeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau.

Although the Chinese government has created three wildlife reserves within the cat's present distribution, previous surveys found no cats in those areas.

The mountain cat is a solitary, mostly nocturnal hunter, listening for small mammals and birds moving under snow and earth.

Males and females meet only to mate—usually between January and February—and litters of two to four kittens are born the following May in underground dens.

The mountain cat's long, dense coat and thick underfur protect it from the fierce Tibetan snowstorms.

But the cat's defenses don't deter local hunters, who defy its protected status by selling pelts to fur traders for hats, accessories, and tourist curios.

The cat is also a victim of widespread "pest" poisoning campaigns aimed at its staple prey, a rabbitlike animal called the pika, which many Chinese farmers consider unwanted competition for grazing.

In 2002 scientists had called for the mountain cat's protection status to be elevated to the highest national and international ratings.

The outcry was prompted by a government announcement to conduct a five-year program of rodent poisoning in about 17.8 million acres (7.2 million hectares) of alpine meadow in the provinces of Qinghai, Sichuan, and Gansu as well as in Tibet.

The Next Panda?

Luke Hunter, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Great Cats Program, which donated the camera trap that took the images, called the photos of the wild mountain cat "a tremendous achievement."

"One of the key challenges in conserving such poorly known carnivores is simply creating awareness," Hunter said.

"So few people even know of their existence that mounting a conservation effort can be huge challenge. I hope these wonderful pictures help to overcome that obstacle."

Sanderson agrees that the cat would benefit from increased awareness. The poorly understood animal should be considered every bit as uniquely Chinese as its more famous neighbor the giant panda, he said.

"Pandas go for a million [U.S.] dollars a year to rent and are very well protected by Chinese law, but there is virtually no protection for this cat," he said.

"Until now, even cat specialists had only seen this animal as skins or in less than perfect shape in zoos. Hopefully someday soon we'll see billboards in China similar to those with pandas on them.

"Certainly, local people in Rongrah village have stopped killing the cat and are reporting their sightings to us," Sanderson added.

For example, he said, an assistant named Achu in charge of the project's remote cameras was a former wildlife hunter.

Unlike big cats, Sanderson continued, "there is very little attention on small cats. It is as if they were left for me to focus all my attention on"

Sanderson said that the new images are a reward for four years of effort looking for the mountain cat.

"If there's one thing the cats have taught me," he said, "it's patience."

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http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/070914-mountain-cat.html


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