Leopard Cat Prionailurus bengalensis

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The most common wild cat of southern Asia, leopard cats are small spotted cats about the size of a domestic cat, but rather long in the legs.

Their colouration is highly variable throughout their range, from pale tawny, to yellow, red or grey above, with the underparts white, and spotted. Black rosettes cover the sides of the body, with solid spots running down the legs and the tail. There are usually four black stripes running down the forehead to the nape, breaking up into short bands and elongate spots on the shoulders. Often there is one stripe running the length of the body. The length of the fur is variable, according to their range, with those cats in the most northern part having longer, thicker coats than the southern subspecies. The relatively small head has a short, narrow muzzle, a white chin, and two narrow black cheek stripes enclosing a white area. Two white and four black stripes run up from the inner corners of the eyes towards the ears. The irises are a deep, golden brown to greyish, and the long rounded ears are black on the outside, with a white central spot. The tail is spotted above with a few indistinct spotted rings near the buff coloured tip.

Leopard cats inhabit forests and jungles in both low country and in hilly, even mountainous areas up to 3,000 metres, as well as scrub, semi desert, secondary vegetation and agricultural areas. In northeastern Asia they are often found in pine forests, favouring the more open stretches with plenty of fallen trunks. They have been found in 21 Asian countries, from Sumatra to Manchuria, with the smallest subspecies living in the jungles of the Philippines. The largest subspecies are found in the northern regions. They are also known as bengal cats or amur cats.

Active at night, dawn and dusk, they hunt both on the ground and in the trees. Like most wild cats, they swim very well. Showing little aversion to human presence, leopard cats can frequently be found close to villages, and have been kept as rodent control agents by villagers, much like Geoffroy’s cat Oncifelis geoffroyi of South America. Most of their hunting is done at night, but they can be found in twilight, preying on rodents and other small mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, amphibians and insects. Legend says they catch birds by dropping on them from above, and like most small cats they are very agile in the trees.

In the deep forests of Thailand, radio telemetry studies determined home range size is 2.5 - 5.4 kg, with male ranges enclosing that of several females. They utilize habitat relatively uniformly, with a marginal preference for riverine habitat and roads. The highest levels of activity took place during the wet season, with much lower levels in the dry season. Marked differences in home range sizes, activity and prey selection were found in dry mixed mosaic habitat.

After a gestation of 65 - 70 days, one to four, usually two or three, young are born in a hollow tree, rocky crevice or burrow. Weight at birth is around 80 grams; their eyes open in 5 - 15 days. Leopard cats from the northern part of their range bear their young in May, but in warmer southern parts kittens have been found at all times of the year. Sexual maturity is reached around 18 months.

There are currently less than 30 leopard cats reported in breeding programs worldwide, of largely unknown subspecies. Asian and European zoos hold more individuals. In North America a large number of leopard cats are held by the private sector, and there are no actual figures for the number in captivity. They have been known to live over 15 years.

Recently, a new threat to the survival of these cats has surfaced. Domestic cat breeders, in their search for new and unusual man-made breeds, have begun to cross pure leopard cats with a variety of domestic cats, producing a hybrid sold as a ‘bengal cat’. By purchasing wild leopard cats from unscrupulous breeders, they are further diluting the gene pool, and removing potential breeding cats from conservation programs.

Fairly successful in the wild because of their ability to adapt, leopard cats are, however, heavily persecuted for the fur trade, and in some areas are taken for food. Japan is the major cat fur consumer in Asia, and leopard cat skins are their primary choice, importing as many as 50,000 skins per year. Since 1993, the government has allotted no export permits, but there were still 80,000 to 150,000 skins exported to Russia.

The Chinese Government has recently proposed their legal yearly quota of leopard cat skins be increased by 500%, as they view these cats as a natural resource to obtain revenue. There have been no field studies done on these cats in China, and their population density is unknown. They are protected over part of their Asian range, with the exceptions of Bhutan, Brunei, China, Philippines and Vietnam. CITES has listed them on Appendix II, with one subspecies, Prionailurus bengalensis bengalensis, on Appendix I.