African-Asiatic Wildcat

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: Felis
Species: Felis lybica

 

African-Asiatic Wildcat Conservation Status: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/60354712/0

 

The wild feline that was known simply as the Wildcat has recently been categorized into two species: the African-Asiatic Wildcat (bush and steppe wild cats of Africa and Asia (Felis lybica) and European Wildcat (the forest wild cats of Europe (Felis silvestris). There is still some debate on this topic, with some researchers regarding the Wildcat as the single species of Felis silvestris.

The African-Asiatic Wildcat is currently believed to be the ancestor of Domestic Cats. There is still some debate on this topic, and as of 2021 the IUCN still recognizes them as the same species. Both the African-Asiatic Wildcat and the European Wildcat species can interbreed with Domestic Cats and unfortunately hybridization is becoming a serious threat to purebred Wildcat populations.” https://www.wildcatfamily.com/felis-lineage/african-wildcat-and-asiatic-wildcat-felis-lybica/

As previously stated, the African-Asiatic Wildcat is believed by many to be the ancestor of the Domestic Cat. Genetic, morphological, and archeological evidence says the African-Asiatic Wildcat might have been “domesticated” around 9,000 to 10,000 years ago during the rise of agriculture; with humans noticing that these wild cats lurking around the grain stores were keeping rodent populations down.

A note about the Domesticated Cat: they aren’t totally domesticated animals even though they are capable of behaving tamely around humans and many do enjoy living with them. Some genetic changes have occurred within the Domestic Cat’s genome, but regardless, most Domesticated Cats retain a certain wildness and are quite capable of living like their wild ancestors. Here is a study about the small genetic changes Domesticated cats have undergone: https://www.livescience.com/48696-origins-of-cat-domestication.html

Back to the African-Asiatic Wildcat:

The African-Asiatic Wildcat is a small wild cat native to most of Africa, Southwest/Central Asia, as well as India, western China, and Mongolia. Again, this is an actual wild cat species- not to be confused with a feral cat (which is a Domesticated cat that has returned to living in a wild state).

The African-Asiatic Wildcat can look different depending on what part of the world it lives in. Some are spotted, or striped, or uniformly sandy brown. They weigh 2-2.7 kg (4- 17 lb) and are 40-64 cm (16-25 in) long.

The African-Asiatic Wildcat is crepuscular (active during twilight and pre-dawn hours) and survives off small mammals, reptiles, and birds.

 

 

More wild cats here