Chinese mountain cat

The Chinese mountain cat (Felis bieti), also known as Chinese desert cat and Chinese steppe cat, is a small wild cat endemic to western China that has been listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2002, as there may be fewer than 10,000 breeding adults in the wild.[1]

Chinese mountain cat
Chinese mountain cat in Xining Zoo
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. bieti[2][3]
Binomial name
Felis bieti[2][3]
Distribution of the Chinese mountain cat, 2022[1]

Based on genetic evidence, it was provisionally classified as a subspecies of wildcat with the name F. silvestris bieti in 2007.[4] It has been recognised as a valid species since 2017, as it is morphologically distinct from wildcats.[2] A 2021 genetic study proposes that the cat be again considered a subspecies of F. silvestris.[5]

Taxonomy

The scientific name Felis bieti was proposed by Alphonse Milne-Edwards in 1892 who described the Chinese mountain cat based on a skin collected in Sichuan Province. He named it Felis Bieti after the French missionary Félix Biet.[6]

Some authorities consider the chutuchta and vellerosa subspecies of the wildcat as Chinese mountain cat subspecies.[3]

The Chinese mountain cat shares part of its range with the domestic cat (F. catus), but no evidence of current genetic admixture with local domestic cats was found in a 2021 study. However, some Tibetan domestic cats show evidence of admixture with the Chinese mountain cat.[5]

Characteristics

The Chinese mountain cat has sand-coloured fur with dark guard hairs. Faint dark horizontal stripes on the face and legs are hardly visible. Its ears have black tips. It has a relatively broad skull, and long hair growing between the pads of their feet. It is whitish on the belly, and its legs and tail bear black rings. The tip of the tail is black. It is 69–84 cm (27–33 in) long in head and body with a 29–41 cm (11–16 in) long tail. Adults weigh from 6.5–9 kg (14–20 lb).[7]

Distribution and habitat

The Chinese mountain cat is endemic to China and lives on the north-eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. It was recorded only in eastern Qinghai and north-western Sichuan.[8] It inhabits high-elevation steppe grassland, alpine meadow, alpine shrubland and coniferous forest edges between 2,500 and 5,000 m (8,200 and 16,400 ft) elevation. It has not been confirmed in true desert or heavily forested mountains.[9]

The first photographs of a wild Chinese mountain cat were taken in 2007.[10] One individual was observed and photographed in May 2015 in the Ruoergai grasslands.[11] Between autumn 2018 and spring 2019, Chinese mountain cats were documented in an alpine meadow in the southeastern Sanjiangyuan region.[12]

Ecology and behaviour

The Chinese mountain cat is active at night and preys on pikas, rodents and birds. It breeds between January and March. Females give birth to two to four kittens in a secluded burrow.[9]

Until 2007, the Chinese mountain cat was known only from six individuals, all living in Chinese zoos, and a handful of skins in museums.[10]

Threats

The Chinese mountain cat is threatened due to the organised poisoning of pikas. The poison used diminishes prey species and also kills cats unintentionally.[8]

Conservation

Felis bieti is listed on CITES Appendix II.[1] It is protected in China by laws such as the Animal Protection Law and the Forestry Law.[8] Since February 2021, it is included in the National First-Class Protected Animals under the Law of the People’s Republic on the Conservation of Wild Animals.[1]

In July 2023, a Chinese mountain cat was fitted with a GPS collar and released into the wild by the Qinghai Wildlife Rescue and Breeding Center. A five-year-old male was caught in a mouse trap when trying to hunt in a chicken pen. He was sent to the Center in June 2023 to be treated for a leg wound and for rehabilitation.[13]

See also

References
  1. Luo, S.-J.; Han, S.; Song, D.; Li, S.; Liu, Y.; He, B.; Zhang, M. & Yamaguchi, N. (2022). "Felis bieti". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T8539A213200674. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T8539A213200674.en. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  2. Kitchener, A. C.; Breitenmoser-Würsten, C.; Eizirik, E.; Gentry, A.; Werdelin, L.; Wilting, A.; Yamaguchi, N.; Abramov, A. V.; Christiansen, P.; Driscoll, C.; Duckworth, J. W.; Johnson, W.; Luo, S.-J.; Meijaard, E.; O’Donoghue, P.; Sanderson, J.; Seymour, K.; Bruford, M.; Groves, C.; Hoffmann, M.; Nowell, K.; Timmons, Z. & Tobe, S. (2017). "A revised taxonomy of the Felidae: The final report of the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group" (PDF). Cat News (Special Issue 11): 15−16.
  3. Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Felis bieti". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 534. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  4. Driscoll, C. A.; Menotti-Raymond, M.; Roca, A. L.; Hupe, K.; Johnson, W. E.; Geffen, E.; Harley, E. H.; Delibes, M.; Pontier, D.; Kitchener, A. C.; Yamaguchi, N.; O’Brien, S. J.; Macdonald, D. W. (2007). "The Near Eastern Origin of Cat Domestication" (PDF). Science. 317 (5837): 519–523. Bibcode:2007Sci...317..519D. doi:10.1126/science.1139518. PMC 5612713. PMID 17600185.
  5. Yu, H.; Xing, Y.T.; Meng, H.; He, B.; Li, W.J.; Qi, X.Z.; Zhao, J.Y.; Zhuang, Y.; Xu, X.; Yamaguchi, N.; Driscoll, C.A.; O'Brien, S.J.; Luo, S.J. (2021). "Genomic evidence for the Chinese mountain cat as a wildcat conspecific (Felis silvestris bieti) and its introgression to domestic cats". Science Advances. 7 (26). Bibcode:2021SciA....7..221Y. doi:10.1126/sciadv.abg0221. PMC 8221621. PMID 34162544.
  6. Milne-Edwards, A. (1892). "Observations sur les mammifères du Thibet". Revue générale des sciences pures et appliquées. III: 670–671.
  7. Sunquist, M. & Sunquist, F. (2002). "Chinese desert cat Felis bieti (Milne-Edwards, 1892". Wild Cats of the World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 57–59. ISBN 978-0-226-77999-7.
  8. He L.; Garcia-Perea, R.; Li M. & Wei F. (2004). "Distribution and conservation status of the endemic Chinese mountain cat Felis bieti". Oryx. 38 (1): 55–61. doi:10.1017/s0030605304000092.
  9. Liao Y. (1988). "Some biological information of desert cat in Qinhai". Acta Theriologica Sinica. 8: 128–131.
  10. Yin Y.; Drubgyal N.; Achu; Lu Z. & Sanderson J. (2007). "First photographs in nature of the Chinese mountain cat". Cat News (47): 6–7.
  11. Francis, S. & Muzika, Y. (2015). "Chinese Mountain Cat in the Ruoergai Grasslands" (PDF). Small Wild Cat Conservation News. 1 (1): II.
  12. Xue-Song Han; Huai-Qing Chen; Zheng-Yi Dong; Ling-Yun Xiao; Xiang Zhao & Zhi Lu (2020). "Discovery of first active breeding den of Chinese mountain cat (Felis bieti)". Zoological Research. 41 (X): 341–344. doi:10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2020.039. PMC 7231468. PMID 32274906.
  13. "全球首例！荒漠猫佩戴卫星定位项圈放归野外" [World-first! F. bieti released back to the wild with a GPS collar]. qh.people.com.cn (in Chinese). September 12, 2023.
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