In November 2019, the desert cat reappeared in Qilian Mountain, which is the second time researchers have photographed the desert cat in 2019. Looking at the photos of the desert cat, some people think it is cute and cute, and some people think it is high and cold. Some say it looks a lot like a domestic cat, while others say it resemblies somewhat like a lynx. So, where is the mysterious desert cat? And look at the introduction below.
Desert cats
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the second largest "cat" in the world</h1>
The word "cat" here does not refer to the cat family, but to the cat genus. The cat family is divided into leopard subfamily (lion, tiger, leopard, etc.) and cat subfamily, and the cat subfamily is divided into 12 genera, and the desert cat belongs to the same cat genus as the domestic cat. Members of the cat genus are the closest relatives of domestic cats, of which the desert cat weighs 4.1-9 kg, making it the second largest "cat" after the jungle cat (3-13 kg). Members of the genus also include sand cats (1.4-3.4 kg) and black-footed cats (1.1-2.4 kg).
In the cat genus, the desert cat is "kissed and kissed" with the domestic cat. Domestic cats are domesticated from wildcats, specifically from African wildcats, not Asian wildcats native to China. Scientists have found that domestic cats, feral cats, and desert cats are so closely related that the boundaries between them are difficult to determine, and they can freely cross with each other without reproductive isolation. In order to accurately describe the relationship between them, scientists have introduced the concept of "species complex", desert cats, wild cats, etc. belong to the cat complex species. Therefore, it is not surprising that the desert cat looks so similar to the domestic cat.
Desert cats are both similar and different from domestic cats and wild cats. Its coat is sandy yellow, not as dark as several wildcat hues; the latter is dark gray, like the color of a tanuki cat. In addition, although the desert cat has several stripes on its face, it is relatively dull, not as obvious as that of wild cats; the same is true of the ring stripes on its legs.
Desert cats have pointed ears with tufts of black hair at the tips, which is similar to african feral cats, unlike the round ears of the Olin cat (European feral cat) and the Asian wildcat. This is because the desert cat and the African wild cat live in a more open environment, it is not easy to catch mice, and the hearing is more important. The desert cat's ear tip tuft is longer than that of the African wild cat, because this feature is a bit like a lynx, it is nicknamed "grass lynx", in fact, its tuft of hair is much shorter than the real lynx.
European forest feral cat, abbreviated as Olin cat
The tail of the desert cat is shorter than that of several wild cats, only about 45% of the body length, while several wild cats have 50-60%. These animals have prominent rings on their tails. The difference is that the desert cat has a thick tail and long, fluffy tail hair. The tail hair of asian wildcats and African wildcats is relatively short and appears to be very thin, and the tail hair of the Olin cat is long, but it is not as fluffy as that of the desert cat. For the desert cat living in the mountains, the big tail is like a warm quilt, and when it curls up into a ball, the tail can cover the body for warmth.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > a Chinese specialty cat family, living in alpine meadows</h1>
The desert cat is the only special cat in China and lives in the mountainous areas of western China. This small cat is a true alpine animal and inhabits altitudes of 2500-5000 meters. Snow leopards and lynx are also mountain cats in China, and the highest altitude they live at is higher than that of desert cats (lynx 5500 meters, snow leopard 5800 meters), but as long as the vegetation is suitable, they also appear at altitudes of only a few hundred meters, while desert cats have no distribution record at low altitudes. Moreover, desert cats prefer a special habitat, alpine meadows, and because of this, their distribution is very narrow, limited to the northeast of the Tibetan Plateau and not found in other parts of the plateau.
Distribution of desert cats (IUCN, 2017)
There are two different views in the academic community about the distribution range of desert cats. One view is that desert cats are found only in Qinghai, western Sichuan, and southern Gansu. Another view is that they are also found in large areas of the Gobi Desert in northern Gansu, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Ningxia. Judging from the research records in recent years, desert cats have never been found in Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, and Gansu is only recorded in the Qilian Mountains, so the former view is correct.
There are also Asian wildcats in western China, which inhabit a lower altitude than the desert cat and live in the Gobi desert region in the northwest. In the past, it was said that there were also desert cats in Ningxia, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and other places, and there were specimen collections in the museum, which were named Gobi Desert Cats or Ningxia Desert Cats. Later, experts identified the specimens as actually belonging to the Asian wildcat. Now, the desert cat in the Qilian Mountains is basically the desert cat with the northernmost distribution, and further north is the territory of the Asian wildcat.
Asian feral cat
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > species status is controversial</h1>
It is precisely because the desert cat is too close to the wild cat and the domestic cat that its independent species status is frequently challenged. The "master" advocates the abolition of the species status of the desert cat and the incorporation of the wild cat. Their rationale was, first, that the desert cat diverged from the wild cat very late, and evolved on its own for a short time, only about 230,000 years, and some of them were too young as an independent species. Second, from the results of micro-random analysis, the desert cat and the Asian wildcat are sister groups, and its relationship with the Asian wild cat is closer than that of the wild cat in other regions.
Micro-random analysis results: Desert cat (red) and Asian wildcat (purple) are sister groups
The "master division" opposes overemphasis on the time of differentiation, arguing that the rate of evolution is equally important. Although the desert cat and the wild cat have not been separated for a long time, its morphology is very unique, significantly different from any kind of wild cat. Moreover, mitochondrial DNA analysis showed that the desert cat was actually the first to differentiate from the composite species of cat, and then the division of several wild cats. The contradictory result of the micro-random analysis is the result of multiple hybridizations between desert cats and Asian wildcats in the Pleistocene period. During the Pleistocene glacial and interglacial periods, desert cats and Asian wildcats experienced many separations and reunions.
Distribution of several (subspecies) feral cats: classical classification (small figure) and modern genetic classification (larger picture)
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has temporarily supported the opinion of the "main distribution" (2017), and the desert cat, a specialty of our country, has been retained. In fact, whether the desert cat is incorporated into the wild cat or independent depends only on how humans define the species. The desert cat is also a feral cat, which belongs to a broad cat species and has its own unique characteristics, which are not controversial.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > an expert alpine rat catcher</h1>
Desert cats feed mainly on plateau rodents, and almost every desert cat feces found in the wild contains rodents, including plateau moles, pikas and hamsters. They live quite regularly, living day and night, sleeping in caves during the day, and catching mice at night. They prefer the grasslands and bushes in the mountains because there are many rats here, and there are very few rats in the bare rock areas and mountain forests.
Desert cats belong to the more burrowing species of cats, they raise their pups in burrows, or avoid enemies inside, or just temporarily rest. They mostly use relatively deep natural caves, the caves are 2-5 meters deep, and the nests are located deep in the caves, covered with the fur or broken bones of hares and marmots. Desert cats choose to give birth to kittens in April and May every year, because in the next three months, a large number of young rats begin to live independently, and the food source of desert cats is stable. The female cat can catch plenty of prey near the burrow and has enough milk to feed the kittens.
Every year from August to October is the growth period after the weaning of kittens, and the mother cat should teach the kittens how to catch mice, laying the foundation for independent survival in the future. In October 2018, the Shanshui Nature Conservation Center discovered a desert cat nest in the wild, which was originally a marmot hole, and it was unknown which unlucky marmot was occupied by a desert cat. The staff set up an infrared camera at the entrance of the cave and captured the heart-warming picture of the mother cat raising the kitten. The mother cat first licks the kitten's fur and then guides the two kittens to play wrestling games to hone their hunting skills.
Photo by Shanshui Nature Conservation Center, 2018
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > the most mysterious cat family, which is under threat</h1>
For a long time, the desert cat was the most mysterious feline for Westerners. This is not only because desert cats are only found in the western plateau of China, but also because they are strictly diurnal and nocturnal, fearful by nature, like to hide in caves, and their tracks are very secretive. In addition, the desert cat is fierce and difficult to catch, and the Expedition team of Dr. Wei Guode of Germany came to Sichuan in 1923 to collect a desert cat, but his foxhound had two bites on the jaw of the cat, and still did not catch the cat, and finally only obtained two desert cat skins. It wasn't until 2007 that zoologists first photographed a live wild desert cat in the wild.
Desert cats do not have much to do with people, and the benefits outweigh the harms, and in general, they are a beneficial beast. Every autumn, the countryside of Qinghai bundles wheat and stands in the ground and allows it to dry naturally for more than two months. During this period, all kinds of rats will come to steal food, and alpine weasels will directly dig holes under the wheat bundles to steal ears of wheat. And the desert cat will also come uninvited, take the initiative to remove rat infestation for people and protect crops. After entering the winter, due to the cold weather on the plateau, the rats have hidden under the snow, and the desert cats cannot find enough to eat, so they catch pheasants and finches instead, and occasionally enter the farmers to steal poultry.
IUCN estimates of the current status of desert cat populations
According to IUCN estimates, there are about 9999 desert cats in the world (I don't know how IUCN gave such a zero-and-integer data). Given its narrow distribution and declining population, the IUCN has classified it as a vulnerable species with a less promising future. There are two threatening factors: one is that people hunt them in order to obtain their winter skins; the other is that people abuse rat poison to reduce the prey of desert cats, and even poison desert cats.
The breeding of desert cats is currently very unsuccessful. The world's first captive desert cat was exhibited at the Beijing Zoo in 1974 as a female cat weighing 6.5 kilograms; the park later introduced a male cat weighing 9 kilograms. But without successful breeding, the two cats died one after another. Xining Zoo has the advantage of getting the moon first near the water tower, once raised more than 10 desert cats, but breeding and breeding has not progressed for more than ten years, and the desert cats in the park have also died.
China has long listed the desert cat as a national second-level protected animal for key protection. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora also includes desert cats in Appendix II, which strictly controls their commercial trade. Desert cats are very different from tigers and rhinos, tigers and rhinos are gone in China, and there are still foreign countries, while desert cats are Chinese specialties, and China is completely gone. Therefore, for the protection of desert cats, China's actual actions are particularly important.