The three most successful carnivores on land are cats, canines, and bears. Among them, only cats are pure carnivorous, and canines and bears have the gastrointestinal function of digesting plants in order to adapt to the environment, and their diet is omnivorous, but it still does not affect the classification of their carnivores. Giant pandas and spectacled bears in the bear family are vegetarian at a rate of up to 95-99%, and even polar bears eat some seaweed and berries during the summer months. All canines are omnivorous, with European wolves stealing grapes, American wolves stealing watermelons, and domestic dogs stealing cabbage.
The three major beasts of the feline family
In contrast, felines are much more arrogant, and wild cats are staunch carnivores who do not have the ability to digest plants. Some domestic cats that have been domesticated by humans will eat some vegetables, but they will not be able to digest too much. So dogs are better fed than cats, and dogs can eat rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and cabbage. Domestic cats will lose weight or go out hunting on their own if they eat less meat, so cats are much more wild than dogs. It is precisely because of the steadfast carnivorous nature of cats that they are greatly influenced by the environment, and most wild cats are endangered species, and several species have become extinct. Bears and canines are highly adaptable to the environment and still maintain a relatively stable wild population.
<h1>Overview of the distribution of felines</h1>
Distribution map of wild cats - yellow is the leopard subfamily, green is the cat subfamily (stray pet cats do not belong to the wild cat family)
The continent with the fewest wild cats is Europe (Antarctica does not count), and Oceania has not been able to enter Oceania due to its long-term isolation from The main cat-producing region of Asia, so cats have not been able to enter Oceania, but can only reach the western islands of the Malay Archipelago. Australia's pocket lions do not belong to the cat family, and australia's current epidemic of wild cats was introduced in the 17th century. In addition, there are no wild cats in the eastern islands of the Malay Archipelago, the Japanese Archipelago, the Caribbean Archipelago, and Madagascar. Japanese domestic cats were introduced from China, and the Madao badger and the Madao civet cat on the island of Madagascar do not belong to the cat family, but belong to the civet cat family.
Group photo of wild cats in China
There are 12 species of cats in China, the above picture from left to right are clouded leopard, cloud cat, lynx, Asian wild cat, snow leopard, rabbit fox, tiger, Asian golden cat, jungle cat, leopard, ocelot, desert cat.
The distribution of fishing cats in China has not been determined. In Europe, which is slightly larger than China, there are only 4 species of wild cats: European wild cats, Spanish lynx, Eurasian lynx, and Persian leopard.
<h1>European cats withered</h1>
In prehistory, Europe also lived the famous cave lion (cave lion). 3,000 years ago, the European lion also spread throughout southern Europe and the Balkan Peninsula, leaving a deep mark on European culture, so much so that most european countries have lion motifs on their coats of arms. Even in the last century, caspian tigers were found in Europe west of the Caspian Sea. Now, Europe's cats are almost withered.
European lion
Europe is rich in high-quality pet cats, such as the British shorthair cat, the Scottish folded ear cat, the Russian blue cat, etc., but the wild cat is dwarfed, and the current situation of the four wild cats in Europe is not very good.
European wildcats (non-stray cats), and Asian wildcats and African wildcats are close relatives and are widely distributed in Europe, but the number of purebred wildcats is decreasing.
The Spanish lynx, weighing 10-15 kg and distributed only in the Iberian Peninsula, portugal and Spain, once fell to double digits at the beginning of this century, but after nearly 20 years of protection, the current number has risen to nearly 700, but it is still one of the most endangered cats.
The Eurasian lynx, the most widely distributed lynx, is also the largest species of lynx, weighing up to 35 kg. It ranges from the Russian Far East in the east to the middle and high latitudes of Eurasia in Norway in the west. It is a very hardy cat that currently poses no threat of extinction, but has fragmented habitats in Europe and is regionally extinct in some countries. The UK is planning to introduce the lynx that has been extinct in the British Isles for 1300 years.
World distribution of leopards
The Persian leopard, a subspecies of leopards (snow leopard, clouded leopard, cheetah, jaguar is not a leopard), has been controversial about the classification of leopards, which used to be divided into nearly 30 subspecies, and now merged into 9, and are still merging. Plans are under way to incorporate the North China leopard into the Far Eastern leopard. The former Caucasian leopard has been incorporated into the Persian leopard, but the Persian leopard is not the correct name, the Anatolian leopard is, but the Persian leopard is too widespread.
The Persian leopard is the mascot of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia
The Persian leopard is the largest leopard subspecies, with an average weight of 65.8 kg in 21 male leopards measured in the field in the last time, and the largest recorded one, Called Arboz, weighs 115 kg, which is comparable to a female Sumatran tiger. Most of the Persian leopard is in Iran, but there are about 10 Persian leopards in the North Caucasus, that is, in Russia, which means that the Persian leopard is the largest surviving cat in Europe.
<h1>Why there are fewer cats in Europe</h1>
The reasons for the scarcity of European cats are both natural and human factors. Natural factors are the high latitude of Europe, after several large-scale ice ages, there are not many surviving cats, and the topographic barrier has blocked the large-scale entry of cats from Asia and Africa into Europe. A large number of europe's plains lack shelters for cats.
Colosseum frescoes
The human factor is the massive deforestation and reclamation of farmland and pastures, which has led to a decline in the number of wild herbivores, and a natural decline in felines. Human hunting is also an important reason, the ancient Romans once captured a large number of European lions and Caspian tigers and sent them to the Colosseum. In recent decades, the natural environment in Europe has gradually recovered, but wild cats have been unable to adapt to areas that have been developed by humans, and the more adaptable canines and bears have gradually returned. Wolves and foxes can live on the edge of cities, and brown bears can pick up household garbage that eats humans.
All in all, the pure carnivorous habits of cats have cultivated their arrogant and ruthless personality, and even domestic cats that have been domesticated for thousands of years can bite at any time. If humans can't provide free wild living space for felines, their numbers will only get smaller and smaller.
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