Strona 1 Strona 2 0 1996 International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Reproduction of this publication for educational and other non-commercial purposes is authorized without permission from the copyright holder, provided the source is cited and the copyright holder receives a copy of the reproduced material. Reproduction for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior written permission of the copyright holder. The designation of geographical entities in this book, and the presentation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. ISBN Z-8317-0045-0 Published by IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. Camera-ready copy by the Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, Illinois 60513, U.S.A. Produced by IUCN Publication Services Unit, Cambridge, U.K. Printed by The Burlington Press, Cambridge, U.K. Cover photo: Margay, Leopardus wiedi (Giinter Ziesler). Strona 3 Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan Wild Cats Compiled and edited by Kristin Nowell and Peter Jackson IUCNESC Cat Specialist Group NJCN The World Conservation Union SPECIES SURVIVAL COMMISSION CAT SPECIALIST GROUP n Chicago Zoological Soaety WWF CONSEKVATION INTERNATLONAL Strona 4 IUCN/Species Survival Commission Conservation Communications Fund and Contributors to WiZd Cats In 1992, IUCN’s Species Survival Commission estab- The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) makes a sig- lished the Conservation Communications Fund to garner nificant annual contribution to the SSC Conservation support for its expansive Publications Programme which Communications Fund, in addition to grants for in situ promotes conservation by: (1) providing objective scien- conservation coordinated by the SSC. NWF is the largest tific information about biodiversity, habitats, and ecosys- non-governmental, non-profit conservation-education and tems; (2) identifying high priority actions for conservation; advocacy organization in the United States. It emphasizes and (3) delivering the information and recommendations assisting individuals and organizations of all cultures, in to natural resource managers, decision-makers, and others the United States and abroad, to conserve wildlife and whose actions affect the conservation of biodiversity. other natural resources and to protect the earth’s environ- ment to assure a peaceful, equitable, and sustainable future. The SSC’s Action Plans (Wild Cats is #28 in the series), Occasional Papers, newsletter (Species), membership The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) provides sig- directory, and other publications are supported by a wide nificant annual operating support to the SSC. WWF’s con- variety of generous donors (see below): tribution supports the SSC’s minimal infrastructure and helps ensure that the voluntary network and Publications The Sultanate of Oman established the Peter Scott Programme are adequately supported. WWF aims to con- IUCN/SSC Action Plan Fund in 1990. The Fund supports serve nature and ecological processes by: (1) preserving Action Plan development and implementation; to date, genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity; (2) ensuring that more than 80 grants have been made from the Fund to the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable both Specialist Groups. As a result, the Action Plan Programme now and in the longer term; and (3) promoting actions to has progressed at an accelerated level and the network has reduce pollution and the wasteful exploitation and con- grown and matured significantly. The SSC is grateful to sumption of resources and energy. WWF is one of the the Sultanate of Oman for its confidence in and support for world’s largest independent conservation organizations, species conservation worldwide. with a network of national organizations and associates around the world and over 5.2 million regular supporters. The Chicago Zoological Society (CZS) provides signifi- WWF continues to be known as World Wildlife Fund in cant in-kind and cash support to the SSC, including grants Canada and in the United States of America. for special projects, editorial and design services, staff sec- ondments, and related support services. The president of Publication of Wild Cats was made possible with CZS and director of Brookfield Zoo, George B. Rabb, generous grants from WWF-Netherlands and WWF- serves as the volunteer Chair of the SSC. The mission of International. CZS is to help people develop a sustainable and harmo- nious relationship with nature. Brookfield Zoo carries out Other contributors include Conservation International and its mission by informing and inspiring 2 million visitors the International Fur Trade Federation. annually, by serving as a refuge for species threatened with extinction, by developing scientific approaches to man- age species successfully in zoos and the wild, and by working with other zoos, agencies, and protected areas around the world to conserve habitats and wildlife. ii Strona 5 Contents Page Page Foreword ......................................................................vii 2. North Africa and Southwest Asia.. ...................... .36 Elizabeth Marshall Thomas Vulnerability Index to Species of the Region (Box 1).......................................... 36 Acknowledgements .......................................................ix Asiatic lion, Panthera leo persica............................ 37 Cheetah,Acinonyx jubatus ....................................... 41 Introduction ..................................................................xi Leopard,Panthera pardus ....................................... 44 Sandcat, Felis margarita ......................................... 47 Executive Summary ....................................................xii Caracal, Caracal caracal ......................................... 50 Global Ranking of Cat Species ... Vulnerability (Box 1) .........................................x111 3. Tropical Asia ........................................................... 54 RegionalRanking of Cat Species Vulnerability Index to Species Vulnerability (Box 2) .........................................xiv of the Region (Box 1).......................................... 54 Tiger, Panthera tigris ............................................... 55 Taxonomy of the Felidae ...........................................xvi Borneanbay cat, Catopumabadia........................... 65 Classificationof the Felidae (Box 1) Clouded leopard,Neofelis nebulosa....................... .66 W. Christopher Wozencraft ...................................xvii Asiatic golden cat, Catopumatemmincki............... .69 Flat-headedcat, Prionailurus planiceps................. .70 The History of Felid Classification ... Rusty-spottedcat, Prionailurus rubiginosus.......... .72 Lars Werdelin........................................................xv111 Fishing cat, Prionailurus viverrinus ....................... .74 Molecular Geneticsand Phylogenetics Marbled cat, Pardofelis marmorata........................ .76 of the Felidae Leopard, Panthera pardus ....................................... 78 ... StephenJ. O’Brien ................................*............... xx111 Jungle cat, Felis chaus ............................................. 83 Leopard cat, Prionailurus bengalensis................... .85 Iriomote cat, Prionailurus bengalensis Part I iriomotensis......................................................... 88 SpeciesAccounts 4. Eurasia ..................................................................... 90 Introduction ................................................................... 1 Vulnerability Index to Species Structure of the SpeciesAccounts ............................. 1 of the Region (Box 1) 90 .......................................... Categorization of SpeciesVulnerability ................... .2 Worksheet Summary for Global Cat Species Asia Sub-region ...................................................... 91 Vulnerability Rankings(Box 1)............................ 3 Snow leopard, Uncia uncia ...................................... 91 1994IUCN ThreatenedSpecies Chinesemountaincat, Felis bieti ............................. 96 Categories(Box 2)................................................. 5 Manul, Otocolobusmanul........................................ 97 Asiatic wildcat, Felis silvestris,ornata group ........ .99 I Sub-Saharan Africa ................................................. 7 Eurasianlynx, Lynx lynx ........................................ 101 Vulnerability Index to Species Europe Sub-region ............................................... 106 of the Region (Box 1)............................................ 7 Iberian lynx, Lynx pardinus ................................... 106 Black-footed cat, Felis nigripes................................. 8 Europeanwildcat, Felis silvestris, African golden cat, Profelis aurata ........................ .10 silvestris group................................................... 110 Cheetah,Acinonyx jubatus ....................................... 12 African lion, Panthera leo........................................ 17 5. The Americas ........................................................ 114 Serval, Leptailurus serval ........................................ 21 Vulnerability Index to Species Leopard,Panthera pardus ....................................... 24 of the Region (Box 1)........................................ 114 Caracal,Caracal caracal ......................................... 30 Kodkod, Oncifelis guigna ...................................... 115 African wildcat, Felis silvestris,libyca group ........ .32 Andean mountain cat, Oreailurusjacobitus.. ....... .116 Jaguar,Panthera onca............................................ 118 Oncilla, Leopardustigrinus ................................... 122 .*. III Strona 6 Page Page Mar-gay,Leoparduswiedi ...................................... 124 Laboratory-basedResearch.................................... 209 Canadalynx, Lynx canadensis............................... 126 Intraspecific Diversity and Systematics: Geoffroy’s cat, Oncijelis geoflroyi ........................ I29 The Questionof Subspecies ........................ .209 Puma,Puma concolor ............................................ 131 SubspeciesIdentification Incorporating The Florida Panther(Box 2) ............................. 135 Molecular Genetics(Box 1) ........................ .2 10 Ocelot, Leoparduspardalis.................................... 137 Genetics............................................................. 211 Bobcat, Lynx rufis .................................................. 140 PopulationViability Analysis ........................... 213 Pampascat, Oncifelis colocolo .............................. 144 Infection and Disease........................................ 216 Jaguarundi,Herpailurus yaguarondi .................... .146 Summary and Conclusions.................................... 218 4. Trade ...................................................................... 220 Part II Introduction ............................................................ 220 Major Issuesin Cat Conservation The Convention on International Trade in EndangeredSpeciesof Wild Faunaand 1. Cats and Habitat Loss.......................................... 149 Flora (CITES) (Box 1) ...................................... 221 Introduction ............................................................ 149 International Trade in Cat Furs .............................. 223 Habitatsfor Cats..................................................... 149 The Biological Impact of Trade on Habitat Classificationand Species Wild Populations............................................... 227 Associations(Box 1) ......................................... 150 SustainableUseof Cats for the Fur Trade: Habitat Lossand Fragmentation: The North American Example .......................... 228 An Overview of Global Trends........................ .151 Review of Bobcat and CanadaLynx Habitat Loss.................................................. 151 ManagementProgramsin the United Habitat Fragmentation.................................. 166 Statesand Canada......................................... 228 Implications for Cat Species.................................. 169 Habitat Evaluation and Management.......... .230 The Role of ProtectedAreas in Cat Assessments of Population Size, Conservationand the Need for Linkages......... .172 Structure, and Trends .............................. 230 Summary and Conclusions.................................... 179 Harvest Control andMonitoring ................. .232 Are CanadaLynx and Bobcat Harvests 2. Management of Big Cats Near People.............. .I80 SustainableasPresently Managed?............ .233 Introduction ............................................................ 180 DoesCornrnercialUseBenefit Bobcat and Cat Predationon Livestock .................................... 180 CanadaLynx Conservation?....................... .235 Managementto Minimize the Problemof Illegal Trade in Cat Products................................. 236 Livestock Lossesto Big Cats............................ 183 Illegal Trade in Peltsand Live Animals .......... .237 ProblemAnimal Control .............................. 184 The Bonesof a Dilemma: PredatorsandFarmers(Box 1) ................... .185 Tigers and Oriental Medicine ..................... ,239 Improving GeneralAnti-predator Summary and Conclusions.................................... 243 Livestock Management................................ 185 Compensationfor Livestock Losses........... .186 5. Cats in Captivity ................................................... 244 ProgramsWhich Make Wild Landsan Econ- Introduction ............................................................ 244 omically Competitive Form of Land Use......... 188 A Brief History of Catsin Captivity ..................... .244 Tourism and Trophy Hunting ..................... .189 Statusof Captive Populations................................ 246 Summary and Conclusions.................................... 191 Reproduction in Captivity ...................................... 248 Big Cat Attacks on People(Box 2). ...................... .192 SpeciesBred in Captivity .................................. 248 Captive Breeding and Population 3. Research ................................................................ 196 ManagementPrograms................................ 254 Introduction ............................................................ 196 A Global Captive Action Plan for Felids..........254 Field Studies........................................................... 198 Advances in AssistedReproduction................ .258 Natural History .................................................. 198 Linking Ex situ and In situ Cat Conservation........259 Population StatusSurveys................................. 202 Maintaining Viable Captive Populations Long-term Studies............................................. 206 of Rare Species............................................. 260 Resolving Conflicts with People...................... .209 Research............................................................ 261 iv Strona 7 Page Public Education................................................261 Color Plates...............................................after page 148 Helping to Pay the Costsof Wildlife Conservation..................................262 Wild Cats of Africa ..............................................Plate 1 African lion, North African lion (characteristics), 6. Reintroduction ......................................................263 African leopard,African golden cat Introduction ............................................................263 Reintroductions......................................................263 Wild Cats of Africa ..............................................Plate 2 Translocationsand Population African cheetah,Saharancheetah, Supplementation................................................265 King cheetah,Serval Summaryof Problemswith ReintroducingCats....268 ReleaseAreas Acceptable to People.................268 Wild Cats of Africa ..............................................Plate 3 ReleaseAreas with Adequate and Caracal,Black-footed cat, African wildcat, SuitableFood Supply ...................................268 Sandcat Sourceof Animals to be Reintroduced.............268 DiseaseRisks.....................................................269 Wild Cats of the Americas ..................................Plate 4 Costsof Reintroduction.....................................269 Jaguar,Puma,Jaguarundi,Pampascat Conclusions:What is the Role of Reintroduction in Cat Conservation7 . ....................................*....270 Wild Cats of the Americas ..................................Plate 5 Ocelot, Margay, Oncilla Part III Wild Cats of the Americas ..................................Plate 6 An Action Plan for Cat Conservation Canadalynx, Bobcat, Geoffroy’s cat, Kodkod, in the 1990s.................................................................271 Andean mountain cat Introduction ............................................................271 List of Priority Projects..........................................271 Wild Cats of Asia ..................................................Plate 7 Priority Projectsfor Cat Conservation Bengal Tiger, Amur (Siberian) tiger, in the 1990s........................................................275 Caspiantiger, South China tiger, I. GeneralTopics-Projects 1- 17 ...............275 Indo-Chinesetiger, Bali tiger, Javan tiger, II. SpeciesProjects-Projects 18-105........280 Sumatrantiger Appendices .................................................................307 Wild Cats of Asia ..................................................Plate 8 1. ClassicallyDescribedCat Subspecies...................307 Asiatic cheetah,Asiatic lion, Amur leopard, Cloudedleopard,Marbled cat 2. Scientific Postmortem:A Protocol for Collection of Data and Specimens Wild Cats of Asia ..................................................Plate 9 Andrew Kitchener, StephenMcOrist, and Asiatic goldencat, Asiatic golden cat (spotted), Robert K. Wayne....................................................314 Bomeanbay cat, Bomeanbay cat (painting) 3. Scientific Namesof SpeciesMentioned in the Text ...............................................................317 Wild Cats of Asia .......**...*................................... Plate 10 Leopard cat, Iriomote cat, Fishing cat, 4. Species-HabitatAssociations...........*..................... 319 Flat-headedcat, Rusty-spottedcat, Junglecat 5. Cat SpecialistGroup Members..............................326 Wild Cats of Eurasia ..........................................Plate 11 6. A Statementby the International Fur Snow leopard,Eurasianlynx, Iberian lynx, Trade Federation.....................................................331 Chinesemountain cat 7. List of Maps, Figures, and Tables..........................332 Wild Cats of Eurasia ................*......................... Plate 12 References..................................................................335 Europeanwildcat, Asiatic wildcat, Manul Strona 8 Fore word It is indeed an honor to write a foreword for a book of this in the attics of houses set in rice fields, and that African stature-a more comprehensive work than this is hard to golden cats, which have never been studied but are known imagine, and a more welcome addition to the store of infor- to inhabit rain forests, may include as prey small primates mation on the cat family would be impossible to find. With who fall from the trees and lie injured on the ground. Such this work the authors have set a new standard of scholar- observations, anecdotal and fragmented though they may ship for studies of the cat family. The level of scholarship be, are nevertheless precious for two reasons: first, their presented here, as this work clearly shows, is quite obvi- very existence makes it clear that if we don’t preserve the ously nothing less than the finest and most meticulous. species, these passing observations may provide the only The aim of the authors is a high one-keeping a tradi- knowledge we’ll ever have; and second, as a whiff of salt tion of learning that began with compiling data upon the air suggests the ocean: tiny bits of information, however various genera of plants and animals of the different con- incomplete, suggest an entire lifestyle, in all its complex- tinents (I recall a massive multi-volume work entitled The ity, of animals that at this point we know little about, and Lemons and Limes of Siam), a tradition that came into its that the vast majority of us will surely never see. own in 1964 with the publication of Ernest P. Walker’s The mass of data assembled by the authors is analyzed Mammals of the World. The authors have included within to present general principles of conservation giving a clear a single work the entire spectrum of factual literature on sense of where the priorities for future conservation lie. the biology, ecology, distribution, and conservation status These are summarized at the end of each of the Major of each member of the cat family, presented in summary Issues chapters. The Action Plan itself (Part III) trans- form, providing a comprehensive overview of these fasci- lates the principles into concrete action-these projects nating animals so that conservationists now and in the should be carried out in the 1990s to improve the conser- future will have a ready reference. Whether a reader is vation of vulnerable cat species. looking for bibliography on a species, the names by which But the most important contribution that a book on any a certain cat is known in local dialects, the use to which a animal can make is to the future of its subject. Time is get- cheetah puts his dew claws, the impact of the fur trade on ting short for many of the cats discussed here. In particu- the Brazilian jaguar population, or the likely impact of new lar, the big cats- tigers, lions, leopards, jaguars, snow Spanish highways on the Iberian lynx population, they will leopards, and cheetahs-face the hostility of farmers find what they seek in these pages. because of real and perceived threats to livestock and, The 1,500 references included here comprise a litera- sometimes, people. These cats are often killed indiscrim- ture that begins with Marco Polo in the 13th century and inately and their future outside well-protected areas is in extends to the present, and that must represent no less than serious jeopardy. In one of the most important chapters 5,000 scholar/years of collective effort by various authors. of this book, Kristin Nowell and Peter Jackson review the Until the completion of Wild Cats such a literature could situation and discuss measures to minimize livestock pre- only have been found by combing libraries throughout the dation so that big cats outside protected areas can co-exist world. Conservationists in far corners of the world lack with people. This is of vital importance because most the resources to make those searches. But now, the authors reserves are far too small to accommodate viable big cat of Wild Cats have done it for them. populations with a good long-term chance of survival. Only a deep and abiding dedication to the cat tribe A new and grave threat, with ancient roots, is the hunt- could possibly inspire such a magnificent effort, so to an ing of tigers and other big cats for bones for traditional aficionado such as myself, this book is mouthwatering. medicine in China and elsewhere in Asia. This is causing Here it is, you say to yourself as you open the pages with a marked decline in tiger numbers, and in late 1992, Peter reverent anticipation, Here it all is. And sure enough, one Jackson predicted that, unless current trends were sharply need only to let the book fall open for something to spring reversed, the tiger faced virtual extinction in the wild within off the page-from the (to me) grim report that the trophy a decade. Since then it is estimated that, in India alone, over hunting of lions by sportsmen brings twice as much 600 tigers have been poached, while, in Russia, Siberian income to a certain African country as can be derived from tigers have been reduced from around 300 to fewer than the viewing of lions by tourists in the national parks, to 200. Large numbers of contraband skins and bones have the perils awaiting those who would attempt to identify been seized, but they can only be the tip of the iceberg. individual mountain lions by their tracks, to the tantaliz- Wild cats should not be seen merely as beautiful, but ing fact that rusty-spotted cats sometimes keep their kittens of little practical value. The cats are part of the web of life, vii Strona 9 Foreword the mutual interaction of animals and plants, which under- but receive so little in return, except blame, abuse, and pins human life on Planet Earth. extermination.” By its very existence this marvellous work seems to Here, in the hands of Kristin Nowell, Peter Jackson, and echo Walker’s words in Mammals of the World, to whom the IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group, the cat family is at the great biologist dedicated his enterprise. “To the mam- last well-served. mals, great and small,” he wrote, “who contribute so much to the welfare and happiness of man, another mammal, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas ..s VIII Strona 10 Acknowledgements Acknowledgements Wild Cats: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan Comments on various drafts came from (in alphabeti- is the result of the generous help of numerous individuals cal order): Ablimit Abdukadir (China); Eve Abe (Uganda); and institutions named below. To all of them we offer our Marcellin Agnanga (Congo); Ashiq Ahmad (management); sincere gratitude. Mikhail Akhverdian (Armenia); Anada Tiega (Niger and The Research Librarian of the Cat Specialist Group, northwest Africa); Penny Andrews (cats in captivity); Gail Foreman, laid the groundwork for Wild Cats: Status Simon Anstey (Angola and Liberia); Marcel0 Aranda Survey and Conservation Action Plan by conducting a lit- (Mexico, research); Marc Artois (disease); Conrad Aveling erature review and producing detailed information sheets (Congo); Juliette Bailey (trade); Theodore Bailey (leop- on the country-by-country conservation status of most of ard, Canada lynx); Richard Barnes (leopard); Vandepitte the wild cat species. Other data sheets were written by Urs Bart (Botswana); Klaus Berkmiiller (Laos); Hu Berry Breitenmoser, Ravi Chellam, Rodney Jackson, A.J.T. (Namibia); Brian Bertram (lion, research); R.S. Bhadauria Johnsingh, Kurt A. Johnson, Gary M. Koehler, Daniel (caracal in India); Sylvain Biquand (Saudi Arabia); Allard Kraus, Laurie Marker-Kraus, and Chris Stuart. Jill Mellen Blom (Zaire); Ashish Bodasing (trade); J. du P. Bothma was a major contributor to the chapter on cats in captivity. (South Africa); Stan Boutin (Canada lynx); Tony and Mary Kurt Johnson was a major contributor to the trade chap- Jane Bowland (South Africa); Nanette Bragin (ocelot in ter. Colin Groves and Alan Shoemaker helped shape the captivity); Urs and Christine Breitenmoser (Eurasian and list of classically described felid species which is included Canada lynxes, management); Steven Broad (trade); in Appendix 1. Warren Brockelman (Thailand); Dan Brooks (Paraguay); The Etosha Ecological Institute, Etosha National Park, Alexander Bukhnicashvili (Georgia); Arturo Canedi Namibia, and the Species Survival Commission office at (Argentina); Tim Caro (cheetah); Mateus Chambal IUCN Headquarters, Gland, Switzerland, provided office (Mozambique); Philippe Chardonnet (West Africa); facilities for Kristin Nowell. World Wide Fund for Divyabhanusinh Chavda (India); Ravi Chellam (Asiatic Nature-International supported the Action Plan-related lion, management); Peter Christie (cats in captivity); Karen activities of Peter Jackson. Corbett (fishing cat in captivity); Ian Coulson (Zimbabwe); Stephen Nash and Kathy Odell, whose work was sup- Peter Crawshaw (Brazil, management); Ralph Daly ported by Conservation International, produced camera- (Oman); Samantak Das (India); Glyn Davies (Kenya); ready art from roughly-drawn cat distribution maps. Miguel Delibes (Iberian lynx); Teruo Doi (Iriomote cat); The World Conservation Monitoring Centre’ s Wildlife Alain Dragesco-Joffe (Niger); Betsy Dresser (cats in cap- Trade Monitoring Unit (and especially John Caldwell) and tivity); Holly Dublin (Kenya); Nigel Dunstone (Peru, TRAFFIC International (especially Teresa Mulliken) research); Sarah Durant (cheetah); Barbara Durrant provided detailed trade data and advice on interpretation of (clouded leopard in captivity); R. Eagan (Canada lynx, that data. Several of TRAFFIC’s regional and national trade); John Eisenberg (Latin America); Louise Emmons offices reviewed the trade chapter and contributed infor- (Latin America); Alexander Esipov (Central Asian repub- mation for it. Charles Dauphine of the Canadian Wildlife lics); Robert Evans (black-footed cat in captivity); N. Service and Peter Meszaros of Statistics Canada provided Fairall (South Africa); Pier Lorenzo Florio (trade); Gail harvest and price data for the Canada lynx. Officials from Foreman (cat species); Joseph Fox (snow leopard and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provided useful com- Eurasian lynx); George Frame (cheetah); Helen Freeman ments on the management of bobcats for the trade chapter. (snow leopard); Liza Gadsby (Nigeria); Gao Xingyi WCMC’s Protected Areas Data Unit made their files (China); Bill Gasaway (research); John Gasperetti (Saudi available for review (thanks to Graham Drucker). Arabia); Aadje Geertsema (serval); Gonzalo Gonzales WCMC’s Habitats Unit (Corinna Ravilious and Richard (Chile); Ute Grimm (trade); Paule Gros (cheetah); Colin Luxmoore) contributed the habitat maps which appear in Groves (taxonomy); Juan Carlos Guix (Brazil); Ha Dinh Part II Chapter 1. Julia Watts of the U.S. Department of Due (Vietnam); Elke Hahn (trade); Stephen Halloy (And- Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory provided key ean mountain cat); Kevin Hansen (puma); Pave1 Hell data on habitat change in the 1980s. (Czech republic and Slovakia); Veronique Herrenschmidt Staff of the Species Survival Commission (Simon (management); Osvaldo Nestor Herrera (kodkod); Jesse Stuart, Mariano Gimenez-Dixon, Linette Humphrey, Tim Hillman (Eritrea and Ethiopia); Rafael and Almeira Sullivan, Susan Tressler, Diane Cavalieri, Karin Nelson, Hoogesteijn (Venezuela, management); Bernard Hoppe- Gabriella Allen, Clotilde Mack, and Doreen Zivkovic) Dominik (Ivory Coast); Maurice Homocker (puma); F.C. provided support throughout for preparation of this volume. Hurst (Nigeria); International Fur Trade Federation (trade); Strona 11 Acknowledgements Masako Izawa (Japan); Hugo Jachmann (Malawi); Rodney (lion); Ulysses Seal (Florida panther); John Seidensticker Jackson (snow leopard, management); Fabian Jaksic (tiger, management); Assad Serhal (Lebanon); Gary Sharp (Chile); Martin Jalkotzy (puma); A.J.T. Johnsingh (tigers, (cheetah); Alan Shoemaker (leopard, cats in captivity); India, research, management); Dereck Joubert (Botswana); Albert0 Simonetta (Somalia); Alex Sliwa (black-footed Dennis Jordan (Florida panther); Ullas Karanth (tigers, cat); Brian Slough (Canada lynx, trade); Koen de Smet India, research, management); Mohammed Khan (Malay- (Algeria and northwest Africa); J.L. David Smith (fishing sia); James Kirkwood (disease, reintroductions); Andrew cat, tiger, research); Philippe Stahl (European wildcat, dis- Kitchener (cat species, issues in cat conservation); Rick ease); Philip Stander (Namibia); Chris Stuart (southern Klein (Chile); Richard Kock (Kenya, disease); Gary Africa, research); Simon Stuart (issues in cat conserva- Koehler (Canada lynx, tiger research); Ashok Kumar tion); Mel Sunquist (Bornean bay cat, tiger, Latin (trade); Tor Kvam (Norway); Sally Lahm (Gabon); Karen America); Wendell Swank (jaguar); Tan Bangjie (China); Laurenson (cheetah); Nigel Leader-Williams (Tanzania); Jose Lobao Tello (Central African Republic); Valmik Paul Leyhausen (cat species, taxonomy); Donald Lindburg Thapar (tiger, India); Jay Tischendorf (U.S.A.); Arlen (cheetah in captivity); Malan Lindeque (Namibia); Fred Todd (Canada lynx); Schwann Tunhikorn (tiger, Lindzey (puma); Lu Houji (China); Ma Yiqing (China); Thailand); Siima Umar (Turkey); Chris Vaughan (Costa Kathy MacKinnon (Thailand); Stephen MacOrist (disease, Rica); Juan Villalba-Macias (Latin America, trade); European wildcat); David Mallon (Ladakh and Mongolia); Jacques Verschuren (Central Africa); John Visser (black- Laurie Marker-Kraus and Daniel Kraus (cheetah); Rowan footed cat); Clive Walker (South Africa); Kamal Wassif Martin (leopard); E.N. Matjuschkin (former U.S.S.R.); (Egypt); Carlos Weber (Chile); Lars Werdelin (Canada Charles McDougal (Nepal, management); Jeff McNeely lynx, taxonomy); Robert Wiese (cats in captivity); David (southeast Asia, issues in cat conservation); Stephen Wildt (assisted reproduction); Won Pyong-Oh (Korean McOrist (disease); Heinrich Mendelssohn (Israel); Gus peninsula); Michael Woodford (disease); Sejal Worah Mills (South Africa, research); Fumi Mizutani (Kenya, (rusty-spotted cat); Anne Wright (India); Alfred0 Ximenez management); Francis Mkanda (Malawi); Edgardo Mond- (Brazil); D.W. Yalden (Ethiopia); Shigeki Yasuma olfi (Venezuela); Garth Mowat (Canada lynx); Elena (Borneo, Iriomote cat); Jinping Yu (leopard cat); James Mukhina (Central Asian republics); Iyad Nader (Saudi Zacharias (rusty-spotted cat). Arabia); Stephen Nash (trade); Jan Nel (South Africa); Christine Breitenmoser-Wiirsten, Dan Cao-Sheng, Howard Nelson (Trinidad and Tobago); John Newby Wynand du Plessis, Cecile Thiery, and Adrienne and (Saharan Africa); Peter Norton (leopard in South Africa); Paddy Jackson translated documents from Afrikaans, John Oates (West and Central Africa); Stephen O’Brien Chinese, French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish. (molecular genetics); U. Ohn (Myanmar); Gea Olbricht Our spouses, Tom Preisser and Adrienne Jackson, (cats in captivity); Madan Oli (snow leopard in Nepal, helped in innumerable ways. management); William Oliver (Philippines); Craig Packer The Cat Specialist Group expresses its gratitude to the (lion); Bruno Paris (Guinea-Bissau); Junaidi Payne (Sabah following persons who have donated illustrations: J.J. and Sarawak); Pierre Pfeffer (Bornean bay cat); Hubert Aldama, Tom Brakefield, Ravi Chellam, Kathleen Planton (West and Central Africa); Kim Poole (Canada Conforti, Alain Dragesco-Joffe, Francisco Erize, Eskander lynx, trade); Howard Quigley (Latin America); Pat Quillen Ferouz, Helen Freeman, E.P. Gee, Mike Greer, Anne (cats in captivity); Alan Rabinowitz (tiger, clouded leop- Hilborn, Rafael Hoogesteijn, Lewis Horowitz, R. Idzerda, ard, southeast Asia, research); Bernardino Ragni (Italy, Masako Izawa, Peter Jackson, David Jenny, Bholu Abrar taxonomy); M.K. Ranjitsinh (India); Mohammed Reza Khan, Sanjay Kumar, Claude Levinson, Paul Leyhausen, Khan (Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates); Wolfgang Jill Mellen, Garth Mowatt, Kristin Nowell, Bharat Pathak, Richter (Zaire); Tom Roberts (Pakistan); Robert Rolley Dimitriy Pikunov, E. Ram&o, Tim Redford, D. Reucassel, (bobcat); Mark Rosenthal (flat-headed cat in captivity); Ian Kailash Sankhala, Roland Seitre, Gajandan Singh, Ross (puma); Jurgen Rottmann (Chile); Deb Roy (tiger, Alexander Sliwa, Shawn Smallwood, Fiona Sunquist, India, management); Royal Forest Dept. of Thailand; Valmik Thapar, Jim Thorsell, Barbara Tonkin, Belinda Richard Salter (Laos); Charles Santiapillai (Indonesia and Wright and Giinter Ziesler. Thanks also to the Natural Vietnam); Pranabes Sanyal (India, management); Karen History Museum, London, for the photo of a 19th century Sausman (sand cat in captivity); Nan Schaffer (flat-headed painting of a Bornean bay cat by Joseph Wolf, and the cat in captivity); George Schaller (Tibet); Lue Scheepers WWF Photo Library for photos by Tony Rath. X Strona 12 Introduction Introduction The Cat Action Plan summary sections which outline key points. A regional index to species vulnerability, which generally indicates Wild Cats: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan species conservation priority, prefaces each regional chap- consists of a review and analysis of information relevant to ter in Part I, the Species Accounts. The introduction to the conservation of wild cats, and a priority action pro- the Species Accounts explains how species vulnerability gram. Part I provides summaries of the biology, ecology, is ranked. Part III, the Action Plan, is organized accord- distribution, and conservation status of each cat species. ing to the topics examined in Part II and the species order These Species Accounts are organized under five geo- of Part I. political regions: Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and southwest Asia, Tropical Asia, Eurasia, and the Americas. Part II examines the major issues pertinent to the conser- The Cat Specialist Group vation of all cats: habitat loss, management of big cats near people, research, trade, cats in captivity, and reintroduc- The IUCNKSC Cat Specialist Group is the world’s pre- tion. Parts I and II together form a comprehensive refer- mier body of scientific and practical expertise on wild cats ence for people interested in cats and their conservation. and their conservation. Over 160 members (see Appendix The information contained within is a demonstration of the 5) represent 50 countries and include field biologists, work of cat specialists, and it is hoped that the rich and wildlife managers, government officials, leaders of non- multi-faceted picture of cats and their conservation which governmental organizations which focus on cat conserva- emerges will stimulate more people to become active on tion, and other specialists from diverse but interrelated behalf of the wild cats. fields including taxonomy, genetics, environmental law, Wild Cats is more, however, than an authoritative ref- wildlife trade and use, conservation education and wildlife erence work. It is a strategic planning document which photography, small population biology and captive breed- prescribes methods for making cat conservation more ing, and wildlife veterinary medicine. These people serve effective. These principles of cat conservation, which can as Cat Specialist Group members in their personal capaci- be drawn from the text, prioritize conservation action on ties, but bring with them the experience and the knowledge both international and regional levels. The principles also gained in their professional careers. They volunteer the serve as a framework to aid local authorities in planning best of their thinking, and also, in many cases, their time their own cat conservation priorities. and services, for cat conservation. This document repre- Part III, the Action Plan itself, presents 105 projects that sents the Group’s first major collective effort to review build on the data and recommendations presented previ- what has been accomplished in the past, and to prepare a ously, and focus the general principles of cat conserva- strategic plan for future action. tion. Drawn up by the Cat Specialist Group, they Through its members, the Cat Specialist Group main- concentrate on the most vulnerable species and are priori- tains a substantial collective library. The Group plans to ties for cat conservation in the 1990s. Implementation of consolidate and disseminate this resource by establishing a these projects forms the mission of the Cat Specialist Cat Conservation Data Center (see priority project in Part Group over the coming decade. If these projects realize III). The Chairman publishes a biannual newsletter, Cat their objectives, the family Felidae should enter the 21st News, which is circulated to members of the group. It is century in good shape. available to anyone else who makes an annual donation to The priority projects listed in the Action Plan, for the a special fund in the name of “Friends of the Cat Group.” most part, are in need of (1) financial support and (2) For more information about the Cat Specialist Group, researchers and others to work on them. Those interested contact: Peter Jackson, Chairman, IUCN/SSC Cat in funding, carrying out, or helping with any of these pro- Specialist Group, Route des Macherettes, 1172 Bougy- jects should contact the Vice Chairman, Projects for Villars, Switzerland, Tel + Fax: +41 (21) 808 6012, email: details: Kristin Nowell, 2520-4,41st St. NW, Washington [email protected] or c/o the Species Survival DC 20007, U.S.A. Commission, IUCN-The World Conservation Union, An Executive Summary of Wild Cats prefaces Part I. In 1196 Gland, Switzerland, Tel: +41 (22) 999 0001, Fax: addition, the “Major Issues” chapters of Part II end in short +41 (22) 999 0015, email: [email protected] (attn jackson). xi Strona 13 Executive Summary Executive Summary Wild Cats: Status Survey and gal trade in tiger bone for Asian traditional medicines, and Conservation Action Plan this calls for expertise in several fields: protection of key populations in reserves; protection of tigers outside There are 36 species of wild cat, ranging in size from the reserves; analysis of the consumer market for tiger bone; tiger to the tiny rusty-spotted cat. They are found in every and effective enforcement of both national and interna- continent except Australia and Antarctica. This docu- tional trade bans. This explains why more priority projects ment, Wild Cats: Status Survey and Conservation Action are proposed for the tiger (14) than for the Iberian lynx Plan, is designed to promote the conservation of all the (3) in the Action Plan. wild cats in their natural surroundings. The increase in For many of the most vulnerable small cats, there is numbers of people, the spread of settlement and the little knowledge of their biology and ecology. Conserva- exploitation of natural resources of wild lands hitherto tion of these species will be difficult without this baseline little disturbed, together with persecution, are threatening information. There are thus relatively few projects for some cats with extinction. Other cat species are declin- these species beyond basic studies of natural history and ing in numbers. detailed surveys of the distribution of sub-populations. To assess the vulnerability of the cats, a system has been developed to rank them in five main categories, both on a world basis and a regional basis. The ranking sys- Part I: Species Accounts tem is based on four factors: The Species Accounts provide the latest information on the 1. The number of habitat types with which each species biology, ecology and conservation status of the wild cats. is associated: the fewer habitats with which a species Photographs illustrate the characteristics of each cat, and is associated, the more vulnerable it is to habitat loss. maps provide the latest information on their range. The 2. Total range size: the smaller the distribution of a species, species accounts serve as a database, to be built on as the more vulnerable it is to further loss of range. research produces more information. 3. Body size, which provides a link to esti mates of total numbers: the larger the cat, the fewer the number of individuals likely to be located in a given area com- Part II: Major Issues in Cat Conservation pared with smaller cats. Part II is devoted to the review and analysis of six major 4. Active Threat (“A”), which refers to high levels of issues in cat conservation: hunting pressure, leading to the loss of animals from Chapter 1. Habitat loss and fragmentation habitat in which they would otherwise be present. Chapter 2. Management of big cats near people Chapter 3. Research Combining the scoring on these factors makes it possible Chapter 4. Trade to group cats into categories in order of their priority for Chapter 5. Captive breeding conservation (Boxes 1 and 2). The ranking system is Chapter 6. Reintroduction described in detail in the introduction to Part I. In general, species in Category 1 warrant first atten- Examination of these issues leads to several inter-related tion, both globally and regionally. Yet practical consider- conclusions about cat conservation, which are summarized ations play a large role in determining how conservation at the end of each chapter. These are reviewed in this action should be structured in terms of projects. For exam- Executive Summary in the form of key general questions ple, the Iberian lynx emerges as the most vulnerable wild which the Action Plan projects are designed to answer. cat and is ranked ahead of the tiger, although the tiger is seriously threatened. However, it will take much more How do cat species adapt to dlj$erentforms of conservation effort to save the tiger than the Iberian lynx. habitat loss and modification? The total numbers of Iberian lynx may be fewer than tiger, Chapter 1 shows that most of the world’s original natural but the lynx occurs mainly in Spain, and this allows for vegetation has been modified in some way by people. unified conservation action. The tiger is scattered in small, Protected areas cover only small portions of the range of localized populations in 14 Asian countries, including the most species, so that most cats live in modified habitat. world’s two most densely populated nations, India and Fortunately, cats, not having specific vegetation require- China. Moreover, the primary threat facing the tiger is ille- ments, are more flexible than many other animals in terms xii Strona 14 Executive Summary of their ability to persist. For example, logging in tropical Box 1 rain forest doesnot necessarilyleadto the declineor extir- Global Ranking of Cat Species pation of its cat populations. As discussedin Chapter 3, there have been relatively few studies of cats in altered Vulnerability habitats;mosthave beendone in protected areas. Several Action Plan projects (numbers 2 and 23) have been Category 1 (Top priority) designedto identify the variableswhich permit catsto per- lberian lynx lynx pardnus sist in different forms of modified habitat. In addition, a number of natural history studies are proposed which Category 2 Tiger (A) Panthera tigris shouldbe carried out both in good-quality protected habi- Snow leopard (A) Uncia uncia tat and in a type of modified habitat which predominates Bomean bay cat Catopuma badia within the range of the species. It is important for these Chinese mountain cat Felis bieti studiesto estimatecat densitiesin modified habitat, so as Black-footed cat Fe/is nigripes to calculatenumbersover large areasof their ranges. Kodkod Oncifelis guigna Andean mountain cat Oreailurus jacobitus Flat-headed cat Priunaiiurus planieeps Which types of habitat are mostimportant Fishing cat Prionailurus viverrinus for cat speciesconservation? African golden cat Profelis aura ta Certain habitat types are the richest in vulnerable cat species,but are either declining in areaor becomingfrag- Category 3 Cheetah (A) Acinonyx jubatus mented. Theseinclude tropical moist forest, especiallyin Lion (A) Panthera lea the lowlands, tropical montane complexes, high alpine Jaguar (A) Panthera onca habitat, andmajor wetlands. Conservationof thesehabitat Asiatic golden cat Catopuma temmincki types is important for cat species.Protectedareasneedto Oncilla Leopardus tignnus be sufficiently large to support viable populations of the Rusty-spotted cat Prionailurus rubiginosus Clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa biggestcats. Marbled cat Pardofelis marmorata What managementmeasurescan be taken to promote Category 4 conservationof big cats living near people? Sand-cat Fe/is margarita Most catsare found outsideprotected areas,and live near Margay Leopardus wiedi Serval 1eptailurus serval people. They risk extirpation through unsuitablemodifi- Canada lynx Lynx canadensis cation of their habitat, depletionof their prey, and persecu- Geoff roy’s cat Oncifelis geoffroyi tion. This is particularly true for big cats,which can cause Manul Otocolobus manul significant economiclosseswhen they prey on livestock, particularly for poor owners of a few animals. Several Category 5a Puma (A) Puma concolor Action Plan projects focus on the study of big cats which Leopard (A) Panthera pardus live amongpeople,andon the recommendationandimple- Ocelot Leopardus pardalis mentationof effective managementmeasures(Projects56, Eurasian lynx lynx lynx 22,23, 31, 32,40,5 1,52,71,74,75,93, and 102). Bobcat Lynx rufus Pampas cat Oncifelis colocolo What are the biological and ecological Category 5b requirementsof vulnerable cat species? Caracal Caracal caracal To evaluate the conservation status of cat specieson a Jungle cat Fe/is chaus national or regional scale, a basic understandingof their Leopard cat Prionailurus bengalensis biology and ecology is needed. Otherwise, it is difficult Category 5c to plan specific conservationmeasures.For a surprisingly Wildcat Fe/is s/Ives tris high number of vulnerable species,natural history has Jaguarundi Herpailurus yaguarondi never been studied,either in detail or at all. A numberof Action Plan projects have been put forward to address these major gaps in our knowledge of the cat family A=Actively Threatened (Projects 2, 18, 20, 34, 37,42,43, 57, 58, 60, 61, 63, 64, (High levels of hunting pressure) 66, 68, 76, 77, 91, 92, 94, 96, and 99). In addition, long- See pages 2-6 for exptanation of term studieswhich have gatheredcomprehensivebaseline vulnerability ranking system. dataon cat populationsshouldbe continued. m.. XIII Strona 15 Executive Summary Box 2 Regional Ranking of Cat Species Vulnerability Sub-Saharan Africa North Africa and Southwest Asia The Americas 1. Black-footed cat 1. Cheetah (A) 1. Kodkod 1. African golden cat 1. Asiatic lion 1. Andean mountain cat 2. Cheetah (A) 2. Serval (A) 2. Jaguar (A) 2. Lion (A) 3. Leopard (A) 2. Oncilla 3. Serval 4. Sand cat 3. Margay 4. Leopard (A) 5a. Caracal (A) 3. Canada lynx 4. Caracal 5a. Jungle cat 3. Geoffroy’s cat 5. African wildcat 5b. Wildcat 4. Puma (A) 4. Bobcat 4. Pampas cat 5. Jaguarundi Tropical Asia Eurasia 1. Tiger (A) Asia sub-region I, Bornean bay cat I, Snow leopard (A) 2. Clouded leopard (A) 1. Chinese mountain cat 2. Asiatic golden cat 2. Asiatic wildcat 2. Flat-headed cat 2. Manul 2. Rusty-spotted cat 3. Eurasian lynx 2. Fishing cat 2. Marbled cat Europe sub-region 3. Leopard (A) 1. lberian lynx 4. Jungle cat 2. Eurasian lynx 5. Leopard cat 3. Eurasian wildcat Note: lriomote cat not ranked but high priority (see page xiv). See pages 2-6 for explanation of vutnerabitity ranking system. How fragmented are cat speciespopulations? tory of tiger censusesand is home to most of the world’s Many cat specieshave been extirpated from large parts tigers. The improved techniqueswill be applicablein the of their ranges, but this has rarely been mapped. censusof other big cats. Population fragmentation can result in small, isolated populations, which are particularly vulnerable to extinc- How can the viability ofcatpopulations be ensured? tion. Mapping the detailed distribution of cat populations Studiesin conservation biology show that small, isolated will greatly aid in fixing priorities for the conservation populations are highly vulnerable to decline and extinc- effort, anda numberof Action Plan projectshave beenput tion. Becausecats occur at relatively low densities,most forward to start this process(Projects 3,4, 19,21, 2526, protected areas conserve only small populations. Are 28, 39, 41,42, 49, 53, 59, 62, 65, 72, 73, 80, 90, 91, 92, thesepopulations too small to be viable? Project 8 aims 97,99, and 104). to apply the MVP concept to cat species,particularly the larger cats, in the light of what is known of their biology How can cats be counted effectively? andecology. This information will thenbe usedto analyze Becausecats are mainly nocturnal and secretive, they are the viability of sub-populationsthroughout the range of a difficult to census. But it is impossibleto assessthe sta- species.Other aspectsof MVP conservationare covered, tus of a speciesin a given areawithout reliable indexesof including the extent to which habitatcorridorscan enhance numbersandpopulationtrends. This is particularly impor- the persistenceof a populationby allowing the movement tant for the tiger, which is beingheavily poachedfor bones of individualsbetweenpopulations(Project 50); the role of andother parts. Two Action Plan projects(numbers7 and diseasein smallpopulations(Projects 11 and 27); limiting 50) are designedto develop and promote appropriatecen- factors of populations (Projects 36,46, and 55); and the susmeasures. One of them focuses on improving the ecology of isolatedpopulations,particularly in termsof the counting technique used in India, which has a long his- impact of predation on numbersof prey (Project 29). xiv Strona 16 Executive Summary How can the conservation of’11 intraspecific to promote cat conservation, zoos have resources which diversity be ensured? are becoming increasingly appreciated by the conservation There is general agreement that most classically described community. Expertise in small population biology is called cat subspecies are not valid, but little progress has been for in Project 8. In addition, as zoos become involved with made in re-defining subspecies using modern techniques, conservation of wild populations, a zoo-sponsored fund including genetic analysis. The Action Plan identifies taxa for field conservation is proposed (Project 14). for which both field conservation efforts, as well as genetic studies, are of highest priority (Projects 10, 36,44,46,47, How well does cat reintroduction work, andfor 56, 67, 69, 70, 78, 79, 89, 95, 100, and 105). In addition, which taxa is it a priority? it is recommended that field biologists increase their Reintroduction of captive-bred cats is often seen as a efforts to collect biological samples to help in evaluating means of maintaining wild populations. However, re- subspeciation (Project 9), and that zoos continue their introduction is a complicated matter and is not practical if efforts to identify subspecies and conserve viable popula- the factors which led to the decline or extinction in the first tions of key taxa (Project 15). place have not been alleviated. The establishment of a population can be difficult when habitat is fragmented and How can illegal trade in cat products be used by humans. Projects 16, 17, 84, and 85 monitor the controlled efectively? long-term progress of reintroduction attempts. In general, Commercial poaching and illegal trade are serious threats reintroduction is not of high priority for cats, because none to some species. To minimize them, a great deal of infor- have become extinct in the wild, and efforts should first mation is required about the consumer market for cat prod- be focused on ensuring that they do not. However, the ucts. There is a need to know about the size of the market, Asiatic lion is in a grave situation because it survives only sales volume, trade channels and patterns, key players in as a single, highly vulnerable wild population in India’s the market, consumer motivation, and law enforcement Gir Forest. As insurance against sudden, catastrophic measures and their effectiveness. This is most urgent for extinction, a second population urgently needs to be estab- the tiger: the consumer market for tiger bone medicines lished. Possible sites are being surveyed and assessed in has scarcely been investigated (Project 12). India (Project 35). How can the sustainability of hunting for cats be ensured? Part III: Action Plan Economic value is an important incentive for cat conser- Members of the Cat Specialist Group are involved in stud- vation, and some of the most significant values are derived ies and conservation of cats in all the continents. They from hunting for the fur trade and for sport. Projects are have provided information about their current projects, proposed to further develop management techniques to and proposed others that they consider priorities for con- ensure that hunting pressure does not lead to major servation in the 1990s. Other projects have arisen from declines in numbers and that yields are sustainable the research conducted to produce this document. Part (Projects 13, 33, and 98). III provides summaries of 105 projects. Some already have financial support, but most require funds if they are How can zoos contribute most efictively to be implemented. The Cat Specialist Group will actively to cat conservation? seek funding for these priority projects, and hopes for In terms of captive cat populations, experience in the sympathetic consideration by major institutions, as well as genetic management of small populations, and the ability private donors. Strona 17 Taxonomy of the Felidae Taxonomy of the Felidae In practice, conservation of cats in the wild has to be based become differentiated into groups of generic status.” on populations rather than taxonomy, but taxonomy is an Under the new taxonomy, a number of former Felis aid to prioritizing allocation of conservation resources species are now placed in monotypic genera: the caracal, between different populations. It is thus essential that clas- jaguarundi, serval, Andean mountain cat, Pallas’s cat, sification schemes accurately capture felid diversity, in African golden cat, puma, and marbled cat. The three terms of not only morphology, but also genetics, and, if lynxes-Eurasian (lynx), Canada (canadensis), and Iberian possible, ethology. The history of cat species classifica- (pardinus)-often labelled conspecific, have full species tion, which has seen extremes in both “splitting” and status within the genus Lynx. The strongly-patterned spot- “lumping,” is reviewed below by Lars Werdelin in a paper ted South American cats-ocelot (pardalis), oncilla (tigri- written especially for this volume. nus), and margay (wiedi)have been placed in the genus Wild Cnts follows the taxonomy set out in the latest edi- Leopardus, while the lightly spotted cats of the southern tion of Mammal Species of the World (Wozencraft 1993). region-pampas cat (coEocoZo), Geoffroy’s cat (geoflroyi), Wozencraft has explained that his taxonomy is not a piece and the kodkod (guigna)-are grouped in the genus of primary research, but a compilation of recent literature. Onc$elis. The Asiatic golden cat (temmincki) and the He evaluated what others had done, based on primary lit- Bornean bay cat (badia) are placed together in the genus erature, discarding statements unsupported by data (C. Catopuma. The snow leopard is separated from the genus Wozencraft in Zitt. 1993). His classification is used here Panthera and given full generic status as Uncia uncia. for practical reasons, without prejudice, as it has been With regard to subspecies, there is considerable debate adopted by the Convention on International Trade in on definition, and even whether the traditional taxonomic Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and concept is valid in the light of contemporary knowledge the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC). of population biology and genetics. It is generally agreed Some of the new designations are controversial and will that too many subspecies of cats have been described in the surely be the subject of future debate. One example is the past on the basis of very slim evidence. However, there is Iriomote cat, which was originally described as a mono- some uncertainty as to how to proceed with redefinition, typic genus Mayailurus iriomotensis (Imaizumi 1967), but and the task is large-the Felid Taxon Action Group of the was later placed close to the leopard cat within the genus American Zoo and Aquarium Association (formerly the Prionailurus (Hemmer 1978a, Leyhausen 1979, Corbett AAZPA), which is concerned mainly with appropriate rep- and Hill 1993): it is now relegated to a subspecies of the resentation of wild diversity through captive breeding, has leopard cat by Wozencraft (1993). If the Iriomote cat is recommended the re-evaluation of 235 out of 259 sub- considered a full species, it is the most endangered cat in species recognized by the group (Wildt et al. 1992a). the world, with a population of only 100 animals on the Molecular analysis is potentially an important tool for small Japanese island of Iriomote. If it is considered a sub- this exercise. The leopard, for example, shows great vari- species, it becomes one of several island populations of the ation in coat pattern and size, but recent molecular studies most common cat in Tropical Asia. Nevertheless, because have led to the proposal that all African leopards-nearly of its distinctive characteristics, which led to the uncer- 30 have been described, living in habitats which range tainty in classification, the Iriomote cat merits special from desert to rain forest-should be considered one sub- attention. species Panthera pardus pardus (Miththapala 1992). Modern taxonomic frameworks have lumped most of However, can such findings be reconciled with data gath- the smaller cat species into the genus FeZis- accord- ered by classical anatomical measurements and descrip- ing to the previous edition of Mammal Species qf the tions, and with what new knowledge has been gained World (Nowak and Paradiso 1983). Wozencraft (1993), through field studies of behavior and ecology in different however, broadly promotes the subgenera of the old genus environments? In Part II Chapter 3, where the question FeZis to full generic status, a step which better reflects the of subspecies is discussed in more detail, Stephen O’Brien substantial variation among so many species. As Pocock puts forward a useful definition, outlines the sort of evi- ( 195 1) noted in his Catalogue of the Genus Felix “[The dence of differentiation that molecular biologists should old genus] Felis is a heterogeneous, unwieldy assemblage, look for, and stresses the need for cooperative work ranging practically all over the world, apart from between the different scientific disclipines. Madagascar, some small islands and the Australian Given the difficulty of defining subspecies and the lack Region. Considering its wide distribution and exceedingly of comprehensive evaluation at this level of the family varied habitats, it would be strange if the family had not Felidae, this Action Plan refers only to those subspecies xvi Strona 18 Taxonomy of the Felidae Box 1 Classification of the Felidae by W. Christopher Wozencraff (1993) Family Felidae G. Fischer, 1817 Subfamily Acinonychinae Pocock, 1917 Acinonyx Brookes, 1828 jubatus Schreber, 1776 Cheetah Subfamily Felinae Fischer, 1817 Caracal caracal (Schreber, 1776) Caracal Catopuma Severtzov, 1858 badia (Gray, 1874) Bornean bay cat temmincki 1 (Vigors and Horsfield, 1827) Asiatic golden cat Fe/is bieti Miine-Edwards, 1892 Chinese mountain (desert) cat chaus Schreber, 1777 Jungle cat margarita Loche, 1858 Sand cat nigripes Burchell, 1824 Black-footed cat silvestris Schreber, 1775 Wildcat of Africa and Eurasia Herpailurus yaguarondi Lacdpbde, 1809 Jaguarundi Leopardus Gray, 1842 pardaiis (Linnaeus, 1758) Ocelot tigrinus (Schreber, 1775) Oncilta, Little tiger cat wiedi (Schinz, 1821) Margay Leptailurus Severtzov, 1858 serval (Schreber, 1776) Serval Lynx Kerr, 1792 canadensis Kerr, 1792 Canada lynx lynx (Linnaeus, 1758) Eurasian lynx pardinus (Temminck, 1824) Iberian lynx rufus (Schreber, 1776) Bobcat Oncifelis Severkov, 1858 colocoio (Molina, 1782) Pampas cat geo#Voyi (d’urbigny and Gervais, 1844) Geoff roy’s cat guigna (Molina, 1782) Kodkod Oreailurus Cabrera, 1940 jacobitus (Cornalia, 1865) Andean mountain cat Otocolobus Brandt, 1842 manul (Pallas, 1776) PaHas’s cat Prionaiiurus Severtzov, 1858 bengalensis (Kerr, I 792) Leopard cat planiceps (Vigors and Worsfield, 1827) Flat-headed cat rubiginosus (1. Geoffroy Saint-liilaire, 1831) Rusty-spotted cat viverrinus (Bennett, 1833) Fishing cat xvii Strona 19 Taxonomy of the Felidae Profelis Severtzov 1858. aurata (Temminck, 1827) African golden cat PumaJardine, 1834. concolor (Linnaeus 1771) Puma, Cougar, or Mountain lion Subfamily Pantherinae Pocock 1917 Neofelis Gray, 1867 nebulosa (Griffith, 1821) Clouded leopard Panthera Oken, 1816. leo (Linnaeus, 1758) Lion onca (Linnaeus, 1758) Jaguar pardus (Linnaeus, 1758) Leopard tigris (Linnaeus, 1758) Tiger Pardofelis Severtzov, 1858 marmorata Martin, 1837 Marbled cat Uncia Gray 1854 uncia (Schreber, 1758) Snow leopard Wozencraft, W.C. 1993. Order Carnivora. Pp. 286-346 in D.E. Wilson and D.M. Reeder, eds. Mamma/species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference (Second edition). Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. and London. 1 jacobita, wiedii, and temminckii in Wozencraft (1993) amended to jacobitus, wiedi, and temmincki in accordance with the 1985 International Code of Zoological Nomenclature Article 31a mandating that patronymic species names follow the rules of Latin grammar. Note: Brackets round the name of the authority indicate that the genus has been changed since first publication by that authority. which have beenrelatively rigorously evaluated,and gen- The History of Felid Classification erally prioritizes conservation action at the specieslevel. by Lars Werdelin However, it is also recognized that preservation of a speciesincludes its full diversity, and that at presentit is Like most other groups of organisms, felids have been intra-, rather than interspecific diversity, which is most the subject of a number of revised classifications since threatenedin the cat family. A list of classicallydescribed Linnaeus (1758), in the 10th edition of his Systema subspeciesis included in Appendix 1, and much greater Naturae, laid down the first foundations by naming the effort shouldbe directed towards defining differentiation genus Felix The following is an attempt to provide a within cat speciesthrough more extensive collection and brief history of theseclassification attempts, illustrating analysisof field samples.A protocol for the collection of our growing understanding of the interrelationships of field samples,a collaborative effort by a museum-based the living cats. In addition to the works discussedhere, anatomist and a wildlife veterinarian, is contained in which are all mainly concerned with living felids, there Appendix 2. There area numberof taxonomy-related pri- have been many works that in a general way have tried ority projectsin Part III. to relate fossil and living felid taxa. However, most of Below, Lars Werdelin reviews historical efforts to thesehave not dealt specifically with the ancestorsof liv- classify cat species,and Stephen O’Brien discussesthe ing species,or where they have done so, have concerned usefulnessof genetic analysis in clarifying felid evolu- themselves with only a limited set of taxa. Werdelin tionary history. (198 1) is an example of such a study. These have not ... XVIII Strona 20 Taxonomy of the Felidae been considered in this review. lynx, Canada lynx, and bobcat, and Urolynchus - for the The first author specifically to consider relationships caracal. between species within the family Felidae was Jardine 5. Felis, which contains no less than 19 subgenera, mostly (1834). He distinguished five genera, Leo, Puma, monotypic. Cynailurus, Lynchus, and Felix In the first of these he Oncoides: ocelot, margay, and oncilla; placed only the lion, then separated into two species. In Pardofilis: marbled cat; the second he had the puma, the jaguarundi, and the pam- Catopuma: Temminck’ s golden cat; pas cat (one color phase). In Cynailurus he placed only the Herpailurus: jaguarundi; cheetah. In Lynchus he placed the Eurasian and Canada Leptailurus: serval; lynxes, as well as the bobcat, caracal, African golden cat, Chrysailurus: for one variety of the Geoffroy’s cat, jungle cat and black-footed cat. In Felis, African golden cat; finally, he placed all other species known at that time: CatoZynx: domestic cat (in which he presumably tiger, leopard, jaguar, snow leopard, ocelot, margay, included the European wildcat), the African oncilla, leopard cat, clouded leopard, serval, pampas cat wildcat, and the jungle cat; (other color phase), and European, African, and Asian wild Otocolobus: manul; cats. He did not consider relationships within these genera. Lynchailurus: pampas cat; Although quite different from our current conception of Oncifelis: Geoffroy’s cat; felid interrelationships, Jardine’s classification neverthe- Noctifelis: kodkod; less contains some themes which have run through the Profelis: another variety of the African golden cat subject ever since. These include the recognition of a Dendrailurus, which is based on an unidentifiable genus Felis sensu strict0 (although broader than currently species; conceived); the recognition of Lynx as a distinct genus Fe&, which is preoccupied by Linnaeus’ FeIis for (also broader than currently conceived); the relationship the domestic cat; between the caracal and the lynxes; and the relationship Prionailurus: leopard cat; between the puma and the jaguarundi. The latter relation- Zibethailurus: fishing cat; ship, which is highly controversial, has been supported by Ictailurus: flat-headed cat; many authors since, and it is interesting to find its roots at Otailurus, for a species from Timor that I am such an early stage of the game. currently unable to identify. Jardine was a precursor and his classification a crude first attempt, although an interesting one. The modern This enormous proliferation of generic-level names age of felid classification begins with Severtzov (1857- clearly does nothing to increase our knowledge of the 1858). This author discussed the evolution of carnivores in interrelationships of the various species. However, it general and felids in particular, with special emphasis on should be noted that most of the names used by Severtzov, biogeography and its relationship to felid classification. In whether newly coined by him or adopted from earlier the process of so doing he erected a number of new genus- authors, are still in use for various groupings of felid taxa. level names as subgenera. In total, his classification In Severtzov’s classification we see the seeds of a modern includes five genera and 27 subgenera. Severtzov’s expo- concept of Panthera in his genera Panthera and Tigris. sition is not easy to follow, perhaps because he had His concept of Lynx is also very close to the current one. planned to follow this work by a more extensive mono- His Oncoides represents the beginnings of the currently graph on the group, where he intended to publish the char- recognized Leopardus for the small spotted felines of acteristics of his various groups. This work was apparently South America. Other than this, Severtzov’s contribu- never published. Fortunately, Allen ( 19 19b) published a tion is mainly at the nomenclatural level, albeit a very clarification of Severtzov’s concepts, considerably sim- modern one. plifying a review. While Severtzov was publishing his work, Gray (1867) was completing his studies of felid classification. Gray Severtzov’s genera are as follows: was apparently unaware of Severtzov’s work, and there- 1. Tigris, which includes two subgenera, Leo for the lion fore there is extensive overlap between them, as well as a and Tigris for the tiger. number of synonymous taxon names. In Gray’s classifi- 2. Panthem, with the subgenera Jaguarius for the jaguar, cation, the pantherines are separated into four genera: Panthera for the leopard, Uncia for the snow leopard Uncia for the snow leopard; Leo for the lion; Tigris for and clouded leopard, and Puma for the puma. the tiger; and Leopardus for the leopard, jaguar, African 3. Cynailurus, with the single species Cynailurus juba- golden cat, and puma. This is one of the few notions that tus, the cheetah. the golden cats are related to the pantherine big cats. The 4. Lynchus, with two subgenera: Lynchus for the Eurasian genus Neofelis includes the clouded leopard, whereas the xix