The African wildcat, also called Near Eastern wildcat is a wildcat subspecies
that lives in Africa and around the periphery of the Arabian Peninsula. The
status Least Concern on the IUCN Red List is attributed to the species,
including all subspecies of wildcats. The African wildcat appears to have
diverged from the other subspecies about 131,000 years ago. Some individual
African wildcats were first domesticated about 10,000 years ago in the Middle
East, and are the ancestors of the domestic cat. Remains of domesticated
cats were found in human burials in Cyprus that are estimated to have been
established by Neolithic farmers about 9,500 years ago. Crossings between
domestic cats and African wildcats are still common today.
Characteristics The fur colour of the African wildcat is
light sandy grey, and sometimes with a pale yellow or reddish hue. The ears are
reddish to grey, with long light yellow hairs around the pinna. Stripes around
the face are dark ochre to black: two are running horizontally on the cheek,
and four to six across the throat. A dark stripe is running along the back,
the flanks are lighter, and the belly is whitish. Pale vertical stripes on the
sides often dissolve into spots. Two dark rings are on the forelegs, and hind
legs are striped. The feet are dark brown to black.
Pocock described the African wildcat as differing from the European wildcat by
inconspicuous stripes on the nape and shoulders, a less sharply defined stripe
on the spinal area and by the slender tail, which is cylindrical, less bushy
and more tapering. Ears are normally tipped with a small tuft.
Skins of male wildcats from Northern Africa measured 47–59.7 cm in
head-to-body length with a 26.7–36.8 cm long tail. Skins of female wildcats
measured 40.6–55.8 cm with a 24.1–33.7 cm long tail. Male wildcats from Yemen
measured 46–57 cm in head-to-body length with a 25–32 cm long tail; females were
slightly smaller measuring 50–51 cm in head-to-body length with a 25–28 cm long
tail. Both females and males ranged in weight from 3.2 to 4.5 kg.
The fur is shorter than of the European wildcat, and it is considerably smaller.
Distribution and habitat African wildcats occur across Africa and
around the periphery of the Arabian Peninsula to the Caspian Sea. They are
found from Morocco through Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and into Egypt, and
inhabit the savannas of West Africa from Mauritania to the Horn of Africa,
including Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Sudan, southwards to South
Africa. They inhabit a broad variety of habitats, especially in hilly and
mountainous landscapes such as the Hoggar. But in deserts such as the
Sahara they occur at much lower densities. Much better adapted to desert
habitats are sand cats. The wild cats in Sardinia were long
considered a subspecies of the African wildcat. But results of
zooarchaeological research indicate that they descended from domestic cats
introduced about 2000 years ago from the Near East or sub-Sahara. The population
on Corsica also descended from introduced domestic cats and is
considered feral. The wild cats on the island of Sicily
are considered European wildcats. Ecology and behaviour
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. They rarely drink
water. They hunt primarily mice, rats, birds, reptiles, and insects.
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.
The territory of a male overlaps with that of up to three females.
= Reproduction= Female give birth to one to three
kittens, mostly during the warm wet season.
The African wildcat often rests and gives birth in burrows or hollows in the
ground. The gestation lasts between 56 and 69 days. The kittens are born blind
and need the full care of the mother. They stay with their mother for five to
six months and are fertile after six months.
Evolution Based on a mitochondrial DNA study of
979 domestic and wildcats from Europe, Asia, and Africa, the African wildcat is
thought to have split off from the European wildcat about 173,000 years
ago, and from the Asiatic wildcat and the Southern African wildcat F. s. cafra
about 131,000 years ago. About 10,000 years ago, some individual African
wildcats were tamed in the Middle East and are the ancestors of the domestic
cat. Modern domestic cats are derived from at least five "Mitochondrial Eves".
The African wildcat easily interbreeds with feral domestic cats.
Conservation Felis silvestris is included on CITES
Appendix II. Alley Cat Rescue is currently the only
organization known to have a program specifically aimed at conserving African
wildcats and reducing what some refer to as genetic pollution by domestic cats.
In philately The Libyan Posts in cooperation with
World Wide Fund for Nature, dedicated a postage stamp issue to Felis lybica on
November 1, 1997. The issue was also released as a set of four stamps printed
on a minisheet. References
External links IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group – African
wildcat