Most people have never heard of the African wildcat breed, yet it holds a significant place in feline history. Scientists have termed the wildcats in Africa ‘Felis silvestris lybica’. This article delves into the world of the African wildcat, exploring its habitat, physical characteristics, diet, behavior, and its crucial role in the ecosystem.
Habitat and Adaptability
African wildcats are pretty flexible when it comes to where they live. These little wildcats can be found all over Africa, in both verdant woods and sandy deserts. Whether it's the dry, scorching Sahara or the more shaded forests, these cats make themselves at home. They usually like spots with some cover, like bushes or rocks, where they can hide from bigger predators and sneak up on their own prey.
These wildcats are like the ultimate survivalists. Whether they're dodging the heat in a desert or prowling through a savanna, they adjust to whatever Mother Nature throws at them. This adaptability also means they sometimes end up near human villages, where they might bump into domestic cats. The African wildcat occurs throughout Africa, as well as in the Middle East including parts of the Arabian Peninsula and most of Iran. Its range extends northeast into Central Asia, where it occurs along the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea, and through Kazakhstan to as far east as Xinjiang. It tolerates a wide variety of habitats. In deserts such as the Sahara, it occurs at much lower densities and is most common in areas with rugged terrain such as the Hoggar Mountains. It ranges across the area north of the Sahara from Morocco to Egypt and inhabits the tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands south of the Sahara from Mauritania to the Horn of Africa, including Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Sudan.
Physical Characteristics
Size and Appearance
So, what do they look like? An African cat is a bit bigger and leaner than your average house cat. They usually measure about 18 to 30 inches (45 to 75 cm) long, not including their 8 to 16 inches (20 to 40 cm) tails. They weigh around 6.5 to 13 pounds (3 to 6 kg). Their coat is typically sandy or grayish-brown, which helps them blend in with their surroundings. According to PetMD, the domesticated cats of today retain most of the features and characteristics of their ancestors African wildcats. They did start showing color variations as they became domesticated.
The fur of the African wildcat is light sandy grey, and sometimes with a pale yellow or reddish hue, but almost whitish on the belly and on the throat. The ears have small tufts, are reddish to grey, with long light yellow hairs around the pinna. The stripes around the face are dark ochre to black: two run horizontally on the cheek from the outer corner of the eye to the jaw, a smaller one from the inner corner of the eye to the rhinarium, and four to six across the throat. Two dark rings encircle the forelegs, and hind legs are striped. A dark stripe runs along the back, the flanks are lighter. Pale vertical stripes on the sides often dissolve into spots. Its tail has two to three rings towards the end with a black tip.
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Distinctive Features
One cool thing about African wildcats is their subtle stripes and spots. They have faint, pale vertical stripes along their sides and some darker bands around their tails. They also have these striking yellow or green eyes, which make them look super alert, especially at night.
Skins of male African wildcats from Northern Africa measure 47-59.7 cm (18.5-23.5 in) in head-to-body length with a 26.7-36.8 cm (10.5-14.5 in) long tail. Skins of female wildcats measure 40.6-55.8 cm (16.0-22.0 in) with a 24.1-33.7 cm (9.5-13.3 in) long tail. Male wildcats from Yemen measure 46-57 cm (18-22 in) in head-to-body length with a 25-32 cm (9.8-12.6 in) long tail; females were slightly smaller measuring 50-51 cm (20-20 in) in head-to-body length with a 25-28 cm (9.8-11.0 in) long tail. The African wildcat differs from the European wildcat by inconspicuous stripes on the nape and shoulders, a less sharply defined stripe across the spine and by the slender tail, which is cylindrical, less bushy and more tapering. Ears are normally tipped with a small tuft.
Differences from Domestic Cats
Even though they look a lot like house cats, an African wildcat has some distinct traits. These are superb hunter cats owing to longer, muscular legs. Compared to the affectionate cats we are used to, they are typically more wary of people.
Diet and Hunting Techniques
Primary Diet
These cats aren't very picky eaters, although they do like meat. They hunt mice, birds, and other small creatures; occasionally, they even target insects and reptiles. They’re true carnivores, like most wildcats. In West Africa, the African wildcat preys on rats, mice, gerbils, hares, small to medium-sized birds, including francolins, and lizards.
Hunting Strategies
African wildcats are crafty hunters. Picture them crouched low, creeping up on an unsuspecting mouse in the moonlight. To catch their prey, they rely on their keen hearing and night vision. They wait patiently and take use of the darkness as cover when they decide to strike. African wildcats are active mainly by night and search for prey. Their hearing is so fine that they can locate prey precisely. They approach prey by patiently crawling forward and using vegetation to hide.
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Behavior and Social Structure
Solitary Nature
If African wildcats were people, they'd probably be introverts. They like their alone time, only really meeting up with others when it's time to mate. They mark their territory with scent markings to make sure other wildcats know to stay away.
Territorial Behaviors
They're very protective of their space. As explained by the American Association of Feline Practitioners, cats are wary of strangers entering their territory especially at dawn and dusk. It goes on to say that any cat will have a strong innate urge to hunt and mark territory, even if they simply spend their time indoors. While some female cat’s territories may overlap with a male's, most cats prefer to have their own space. It's similar to how certain people want a large amount of personal space in order to feel at ease. When confronted, the African wildcat raises its hair to make itself seem larger in order to intimidate its opponent. In the daytime it usually hides in the bushes, although it is sometimes active on dark, cloudy days.
Reproduction and Lifespan
These wildcats typically have kittens in the warmer months. After a couple of months of pregnancy, they usually give birth to 2-5 kittens. Initially somewhat defenseless, the kittens mature quickly and gain independence at the six-month mark. They have a 14-year lifespan in the wild, though many don't survive that long because of different threats. The female's gestation period lasts between 56 and 60 days. In Botswana, she gives birth mostly during the warm wet season to one to three kittens. Litters of up to five kittens were also observed. Her birthing den is a sheltered place like dense grass, a burrow or hollow tree. The kittens open their eyes after about 10-14 days and are mobile at the age of one month. At around three months of age, they start learning hunting techniques from their mother.
Role in the Ecosystem
Predator-Prey Dynamics
African wildcats play an important role in their environment. By hunting small animals, they do their part in controlling population numbers. It functions as a kind of organic pest management, maintaining the equilibrium of the ecosystem.
Ecological Importance
These cats not only regulate prey numbers but also provide food for larger predators. Their existence is a sign of a robust ecosystem in which each species has a certain role to play.
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Domestication and Genetic History
About 10,000 years ago, some African wildcats were tamed in the Fertile Crescent, becoming the ancestors of the domestic cat. African wildcats were also domesticated in ancient Egypt. In Cyprus, an African wildcat was found in a burial site next to a human skeleton in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B settlement Shillourokambos. The graves are estimated to have been established by Neolithic farmers about 9,500 years ago, and are the earliest known evidence for a close association between a cat and a human.
Results of genetic research indicate that the African wildcat genetically diverged into three clades about 173,000 years ago, namely the Near Eastern wildcat, Southern African wildcat and Asiatic wildcat. African wildcats were first domesticated about 10,000 years ago in the Near East, and are the ancestors of the domestic cat (F. Due to their physical similarity, hybridization produces less visible effects in Asian steppe-type wildcats than among European forest wildcats. It has been discovered that a domestic cat can serve as a surrogate mother for wildcat embryos. The numerous similarities between the two species mean that an embryo of an African wildcat may be carried and borne by a domestic cat.
The African wildcat is part of an evolutionary lineage that is estimated to have genetically diverged from the common ancestor of the Felis species around 2.16 to 0.89 million years ago, based on analysis of their nuclear DNA. Analysis of their mitochondrial DNA indicates a genetic divergence from Felis at around 4.21 to 0.02 million years ago. Both models agree in the jungle cat (F. The Asian and European wildcats descend from Felis lunensis, which inhabited Europe during the Pliocene and Pleistocene.
Hybridization Issues
One interesting and slightly worrying thing is that African wildcats can breed with domestic cats. This mixing can mess with the wildcat gene pool, potentially making it harder for pure wildcats to survive in the wild. It's a bit like if all the wild wolves started having puppies with pet dogs; the lines would get blurry, and the pure species might fade out.
Dietary Study on African Wildcats
A study was conducted to determine the effects of feeding a high-protein extruded kibble diet vs. a raw meat diet on nutrient digestibility, nitrogen metabolism, and blood metabolite concentrations in African wildcats. Five wildcats were randomized onto either a high-protein (>50% crude protein) extruded kibble diet or a raw meat diet. The study was executed as a crossover design, with 21-d periods, consisting of a 16-d adaptation phase followed by a 4-d total fecal and urine collection phase. Cats were housed individually in metabolism cages and fed to maintain body weight (BW). A fresh fecal sample was collected for short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) and branched-chain fatty acid (BCFA) analyses. Blood was analyzed for serum chemistry and leptin concentration.
Food intake (as is) did not differ (P>0.05) between diets. Food intake and fecal output (g/d DMB) were greater (P<0.05) when cats consumed the kibble diet. Protein digestibility was higher (P<0.05) when cats were fed the raw meat diet vs. the kibble diet. Nitrogen intake was greater (P<0.05) when cats consumed the kibble diet, and more (P<0.05) nitrogen was present in the feces; however, the percentage of nitrogen retained and nitrogen balance did not differ (P>0.05). Fecal scores, ammonia, SCFA, and BCFA concentrations did not differ (P>0.05) between diets. Fecal butyrate molar ratio was higher (P<0.01) when cats consumed the kibble diet. Blood analyses demonstrated few differences between diets, but alanine aminotransferase activity and bicarbonate were higher (P<0.05) when cats consumed the commercial raw meat diet.