Do wolves kill lynx? Yes. An alternative question would be ‘Can a lynx kill a wolf’ or ‘Where the lynx and wolf are sympatric (share the same landscape) which animal pushes the other out and dominates?’ In this instance we …
The question is misguided as some wild cats do purr and meow. For those wild cats who don’t purr and meow they have alternative close range sounds which serve a similar purpose. Without going into a detailed discussion about the …
You can work out the real reason why domestic cats purr by observing when they do it. There was a time when people believed that the purr simply meant that their cat was contented. But there’s more to it than …
I am pleased to say that my excellent reference book, Wild Cats Of The World, provides useful information on this topic. The age of bobcats has been reliable estimated by counting ‘annuli’ in the teeth of harvested bobcats (bobcats killed …
In captivity, caracals have lived to be sixteen years old. The reference for this information is (a) R.H.N. Smithers in The mammals of the Southern African subregion published by the University of Pretoria in 1983 and (b) C.T. Stuart and …
“Leopard cubs are born after a gestation period of about 96 days, although zoo records suggest that gestation can take anywhere from 90 to 105 days.” The information is a direct quote from the premier book on the wild cat …
Do servals purr? Yes, they do purr. But don’t expect a purr that sounds exactly like the purr of a domestic cat. It is deeper and richer. Other sounds that they make are: growl, hiss, wah wah call and “a …
Do cheetahs’ claws retract? The answer is YES, the cheetah has retractile claws but (a) the cheetah has no claw sheath and the claws protrude beyond the fur and (b) it is incorrect to describe feline claws are ‘retractile’ as they are ‘protractile’.
With humans out of the way, Chernobyl’s wildlife thrives like never before. When reactor number four of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded on April 26, 1986, many people, thousands of trees and most of the animals in the area …
Rarely a large wild cat species such as a lion will attack another cat and kill it for various reasons but domestic cats don’t attack other domestic cats to kill them.
There are between 36-41 species of wild cat depending upon how you classify them. The classification of the cats (called taxonomy) is still somewhat in discussion although more settled than before. Genetic molecular analysis has allowed scientists to be more …
‘The earliest cat-like carnivores, which were to evolve into the family Felidae appeared between 30 and 40 million years ago, in the Late Eocene and Early Oligocene. Two main branches developed: the Sabre-tooths and the True Cats.’ – Dr Desmond …
Location People search for ‘Northern Lynx Facts’. Here they are! The page is accordingly deliberately short. The scientific name is Lynx lynx. This medium sized wildcat is also known as the Eurasian lynx and was originally called that but since …
Most people believe that leopards are nocturnal but it is not entirely true. In areas where they are hunted extensively or persecuted by people, they are nocturnal in order to avoid people. Leopards are less nocturnal and more terrestrial where …
Do wild cats have hairballs? There are two initial points to make about this question. Firstly, it is not the sort of topic covered in the best technical books on the wild cat species. Secondly, all cats, domestic and wild, …