Demystifying the Feline Mystique
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Conservation of the Wildcat (Felis Silvestris) in Scotland: Review of the Conservation Status and Assessment of Conservation Activities
Conservation of the wildcat (Felis silvestris) in Scotland: Review of the conservation status and assessment of conservation activities Urs Breitenmoser, Tabea Lanz and Christine Breitenmoser-Würsten February 2019 Wildcat in Scotland – Review of Conservation Status and Activities 2 Cover photo: Wildcat (Felis silvestris) male meets domestic cat female, © L. Geslin. In spring 2018, the Scottish Wildcat Conservation Action Plan Steering Group commissioned the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group to review the conservation status of the wildcat in Scotland and the implementation of conservation activities so far. The review was done based on the scientific literature and available reports. The designation of the geographical entities in this report, and the representation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the IUCN concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The SWCAP Steering Group contact point is Martin Gaywood ([email protected]). Wildcat in Scotland – Review of Conservation Status and Activities 3 List of Content Abbreviations and Acronyms 4 Summary 5 1. Introduction 7 2. History and present status of the wildcat in Scotland – an overview 2.1. History of the wildcat in Great Britain 8 2.2. Present status of the wildcat in Scotland 10 2.3. Threats 13 2.4. Legal status and listing 16 2.5. Characteristics of the Scottish Wildcat 17 2.6. Phylogenetic and taxonomic characteristics 20 3. Recent conservation initiatives and projects 3.1. Conservation planning and initial projects 24 3.2. Scottish Wildcat Action 28 3.3. -
Alan Moore's Miracleman: Harbinger of the Modern Age of Comics
Alan Moore’s Miracleman: Harbinger of the Modern Age of Comics Jeremy Larance Introduction On May 26, 2014, Marvel Comics ran a full-page advertisement in the New York Times for Alan Moore’s Miracleman, Book One: A Dream of Flying, calling the work “the series that redefined comics… in print for the first time in over 20 years.” Such an ad, particularly one of this size, is a rare move for the comic book industry in general but one especially rare for a graphic novel consisting primarily of just four comic books originally published over thirty years before- hand. Of course, it helps that the series’ author is a profitable lumi- nary such as Moore, but the advertisement inexplicably makes no reference to Moore at all. Instead, Marvel uses a blurb from Time to establish the reputation of its “new” re-release: “A must-read for scholars of the genre, and of the comic book medium as a whole.” That line came from an article written by Graeme McMillan, but it is worth noting that McMillan’s full quote from the original article begins with a specific reference to Moore: “[Miracleman] represents, thanks to an erratic publishing schedule that both predated and fol- lowed Moore’s own Watchmen, Moore’s simultaneous first and last words on ‘realism’ in superhero comics—something that makes it a must-read for scholars of the genre, and of the comic book medium as a whole.” Marvel’s excerpt, in other words, leaves out the very thing that McMillan claims is the most important aspect of Miracle- man’s critical reputation as a “missing link” in the study of Moore’s influence on the superhero genre and on the “medium as a whole.” To be fair to Marvel, for reasons that will be explained below, Moore refused to have his name associated with the Miracleman reprints, so the company was legally obligated to leave his name off of all advertisements. -
Felis Silvestris, Wild Cat
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ ISSN 2307-8235 (online) IUCN 2008: T60354712A50652361 Felis silvestris, Wild Cat Assessment by: Yamaguchi, N., Kitchener, A., Driscoll, C. & Nussberger, B. View on www.iucnredlist.org Citation: Yamaguchi, N., Kitchener, A., Driscoll, C. & Nussberger, B. 2015. Felis silvestris. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T60354712A50652361. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T60354712A50652361.en Copyright: © 2015 International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Reproduction of this publication for educational or other non-commercial purposes is authorized without prior written permission from the copyright holder provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of this publication for resale, reposting or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior written permission from the copyright holder. For further details see Terms of Use. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is produced and managed by the IUCN Global Species Programme, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and The IUCN Red List Partnership. The IUCN Red List Partners are: BirdLife International; Botanic Gardens Conservation International; Conservation International; Microsoft; NatureServe; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Sapienza University of Rome; Texas A&M University; Wildscreen; and Zoological Society of London. If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown in this document, please provide us with feedback so that we can correct or extend the information -
African Wildcat 1 African Wildcat
African Wildcat 1 African Wildcat African Wildcat[1] Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Genus: Felis Species: F. silvestris Subspecies: F. s. lybica Trinomial name Felis silvestris lybica Forster, 1770 The African wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica), also known as the desert cat, and Vaalboskat (Vaal-forest-cat) in Afrikaans, is a subspecies of the wildcat (F. silvestris). They appear to have diverged from the other subspecies about 131,000 years ago.[2] Some individual F. s. lybica were first domesticated about 10,000 years ago in the Middle East, and are among the ancestors of the domestic cat. Remains of domesticated cats have been included in human burials as far back as 9,500 years ago in Cyprus.[3] [4] Physical characteristics The African wildcat is sandy brown to yellow-grey in color, with black stripes on the tail. The fur is shorter than that of the European subspecies. It is also considerably smaller: the head-body length is 45 to 75 cm (17.7 to 29.5 inches), the tail 20 to 38 cm (7.87 to 15 inches), and the weight ranges from 3 to 6.5 kg (6.61 to 14.3 lbs). Distribution and habitat The African wildcat is found in Africa and in the Middle East, in a wide range of habitats: steppes, savannas and bushland. The sand cat (Felis margarita) is the species found in even more arid areas. Skull African Wildcat 2 Behaviour The African wildcat eats primarily mice, rats and other small mammals. When the opportunity arises, it also eats birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. -
Serval Fact Sheet
Right 50mm Fore Right 50mm Hind SERVAL FAST FACTS DESCRIPTION Scientific Name: Leptailurus serval Servals have an elongated neck, very long legs, and very large Conversation Status: Least concern ears on a small, delicate skull. Their coat is pale yellow, with black markings consisting either of large spots that tend to merge Body Length: 59 - 92cm into longitudinal stripes on the neck and back. The underside is whitish grey or yellowish. Their skull is more elongated than Weight: 12 - 18kg most cats. The ears are broad based, high on the head and Gestation: 67 - 79 days close together, with black backs and a very distinct white eye spot. The tail is relatively short, only about one third of the Number of Young: 1 - 4 body length, and has a number of black rings along it. Habitat: Well-watered savanna long- grass environments, particularly reed beds DIET and other riparian habitats. Rodents, birds, reptiles, frogs, insects and other species smaller than they are. Distribution: Servals live throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa (except the central BEHAVIOUR African rainforest), the deserts and plains of Namibia, and most of Botswana and South Servals locate prey in tall grass and reeds primarily by Africa. sound and make a characteristic high leap as they jump on their prey, striking it on impact to prevent escape in thick vegetation. They also use vertical leaps to seize bird and insect prey by “clapping” the front paws together or striking a downward blow. From a standing start a serval can leap 3m vertically into the air to catch birds. -
1 the Origin and Evolution of the Domestic Cat
1 The Origin and Evolution of the Domestic Cat There are approximately 40 different species of the cat family, classification Felidae (Table 1.1), all of which are descended from a leopard-like predator Pseudaelurus that existed in South-east Asia around 11 million years ago (O’Brien and Johnson, 2007). Other than the domestic cat, the most well known of the Felidae are the big cats such as lions, tigers and panthers, sub-classification Panthera. But the cat family also includes a large number of small cats, including a group commonly known as the wildcats, sub-classification Felis silvestris (Table 1.2). Physical similarity suggests that the domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus) originally derived from one or more than one of these small wildcats. DNA examination shows that it is most closely related to the African wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica), which has almost identical DNA, indicating that the African wildcat is the domestic cat’s primary ancestor (Lipinski et al., 2008). The African Wildcat The African wildcat is still in existence today and is a solitary and highly territorial animal indigenous to areas of North Africa and the Near East, the region where domestication of the cat is believed to have first taken place (Driscoll et al., 2007; Faure and Kitchener, 2009). It is primarily a nocturnal hunter that preys mainly on rodents but it will also eat insects, reptiles and other mammals including the young of small antelopes. Also known as the Arabian or North African wildcat, it is similar in appearance to a domestic tabby, with a striped grey/sandy-coloured coat, but is slightly larger and with longer legs (Fig. -
Savannah Cat’ ‘Savannah the Including Serval Hybrids Felis Catus (Domestic Cat), (Serval) and (Serval) Hybrids Of
Invasive animal risk assessment Biosecurity Queensland Agriculture Fisheries and Department of Serval hybrids Hybrids of Leptailurus serval (serval) and Felis catus (domestic cat), including the ‘savannah cat’ Anna Markula, Martin Hannan-Jones and Steve Csurhes First published 2009 Updated 2016 © State of Queensland, 2016. The Queensland Government supports and encourages the dissemination and exchange of its information. The copyright in this publication is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY) licence. You must keep intact the copyright notice and attribute the State of Queensland as the source of the publication. Note: Some content in this publication may have different licence terms as indicated. For more information on this licence visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0/au/deed.en" http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en Front cover: Close-up of a 4-month old F1 Savannah cat. Note the occelli on the back of the relaxed ears, and the tear-stain markings which run down the side of the nose. Photo: Jason Douglas. Image from Wikimedia Commons under a Public Domain Licence. Invasive animal risk assessment: Savannah cat Felis catus (hybrid of Leptailurus serval) 2 Contents Introduction 4 Identity of taxa under review 5 Identification of hybrids 8 Description 10 Biology 11 Life history 11 Savannah cat breed history 11 Behaviour 12 Diet 12 Predators and diseases 12 Legal status of serval hybrids including savannah cats (overseas) 13 Legal status of serval hybrids including savannah cats -
Origin of the Egyptian Domestic Cat
UPTEC X 12 012 Examensarbete 30 hp Juni 2012 Origin of the Egyptian Domestic Cat Carolin Johansson Molecular Biotechnology Programme Uppsala University School of Engineering UPTEC X 12 012 Date of issue 2012-06 Author Carolin Johansson Title (English) Origin of the Egyptian Domestic Cat Title (Swedish) Abstract This study presents mitochondrial genome sequences from 22 Egyptian house cats with the aim of resolving the uncertain origin of the contemporary world-wide population of Domestic cats. Together with data from earlier studies it has been possible to confirm some of the previously suggested haplotype identifications and phylogeny of the Domestic cat lineage. Moreover, by applying a molecular clock, it is proposed that the Domestic cat lineage has experienced several expansions representing domestication and/or breeding in pre-historical and historical times, seemingly in concordance with theories of a domestication origin in the Neolithic Middle East and in Pharaonic Egypt. In addition, the present study also demonstrates the possibility of retrieving long polynucleotide sequences from hair shafts and a time-efficient way to amplify a complete feline mitochondrial genome. Keywords Feline domestication, cat in ancient Egypt, mitochondrial genome, Felis silvestris libyca Supervisors Anders Götherström Uppsala University Scientific reviewer Jan Storå Stockholm University Project name Sponsors Language Security English Classification ISSN 1401-2138 Supplementary bibliographical information Pages 123 Biology Education Centre Biomedical Center Husargatan 3 Uppsala Box 592 S-75124 Uppsala Tel +46 (0)18 4710000 Fax +46 (0)18 471 4687 Origin of the Egyptian Domestic Cat Carolin Johansson Populärvetenskaplig sammanfattning Det är inte sedan tidigare känt exakt hur, när och var tamkatten domesticerades. -
Table S2 RABV Sequences Used for Phylogenetic Analysis with African Civet Sequences (Figure 2)
Table S2 RABV sequences used for phylogenetic analysis with African civet sequences (Figure 2). All are complete N gene sequences unless indicated otherwise. Sequences used in Figure 3 Bayesian host trait analysis are underlined. GenBank ID Original ID Country Host Year Isolated RABV Variant AB284514 ZAMRAV23/0 Zambia Dog 2004 Africa 1 4 Canid AF467949 710/90 RSA Cynictis penicillata 1990 Africa 3 Mongoose DQ837461 S1-81 Egypt Dog 1999 Africa 4 DQ837462 S2-81 Egypt Dog 1999 Africa 4 DQ837463 S3-81 Egypt Dog 1999 Africa 4 EU718759 Chad_71_164 Chad Dog 2005 Africa 2 EU853569 9016MAR Morocco Dog 1990 Africa 2 EU835375 Tunisia Human 1986 Africa 2 EU853581 8808ETH Ethiopia Dog 1988 Africa 1 Canid EU853586 07128RCA CAR Dog 2003 Africa 2 FJ392366 19-92 RSA Mongoose 1992 Africa 3 Mongoose FJ392367 22107 Zim Slender Mongoose 2001 Africa 3 Mongoose FJ392368 23-01 RSA Meerkat 2001 Africa 3 Mongoose FJ392369 28-00 RSA Slender Mongoose 2000 Africa 3 Mongoose FJ392370 30-00 RSA Bovine 2000 Africa 3 Mongoose FJ392371 32-02 RSA Yellow Mongoose 2002 Africa 3 Mongoose FJ392372 113-91 RSA Atilux paludinosus 1991 Africa 3 Mongoose FJ392373 155-03 RSA Slender Mongoose 2003 Africa 3 Mongoose FJ392374 211-98 RSA Canine 1998 Africa 3 Mongoose FJ392375 221-98 RSA Suricata suricatta 1998 Africa 3 Mongoose FJ392376 228-01 RSA Sheep 2001 Africa 3 Mongoose FJ392377 279-99 RSA Yellow Mongoose 1999 Africa 3 Mongoose FJ392378 344-99 RSA Yellow Mongoose 1999 Africa 3 Mongoose FJ392379 364-96 RSA Mongoose 1996 Africa 3 Mongoose FJ392380 381-06 RSA Yellow Mongoose 2006 -
All Nine Lives Are Precious Lucca Has It All an Act Of
all nine lives are precious An Act of Mercy ~ Heaven Smiles on Hazel In this issue we would like you to meet some of our very On a foggy Saturday morn- special cats and kittens. Each of them has had chal- ing, a Woodinville couple lenges to endure and overcome. All of them are worthy could not have imagined of our commitment and our care. Their stories serve to being called upon to inter- remind us all that we are indeed still committed to and vene in a struggle between resolved in our motto that inspired us so many years life and death. ago. We live it every day and we want to share a little bit of it with you, our MEOW friends and family. Thank About an hour into a road you for supporting our work and the belief that anchors trip, Jamie saw what he and guides us today and every day that all nine lives thought was road kill as he are precious. zipped by at 75mph. Did it move? He knew he wouldn’t Lucca Has it All sleep that night if he didn’t make sure. He pulled over about a half mile past and walked back. The woman on the phone sounded stressed. “We have some barn kittens that need homes. I can keep the He discovered a little kitten with a bloody face and foot, mama cat because she’s not very friendly, but I haven’t but alive. Jamie rushed her back to the car. Arriving at been able to find homes for the last three kittens.” Then MEOW, she was sent immediately to Animal Emergency she said, almost apologetically, “One of them is missing Services – East. -
African Wildcat (Felis Silvestris Lybica)
African wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica) Reference List 1. Avenant N.L. 1993. The caracal Felis caracal Schreber 1776, as a predator in the West Coast Strandveld. M.S. thesis, Univ. Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch. 2. Cuzin F. 2003. 4.4.4. le chat ganté, Felis silvestris. Dissertation University of Montpellier, 161 pp. 3. de Smet K. J. M. 1989. Distribution and habitat choice of larger mammals in Algeria, with special reference to nature protection. PhD Thesis, Gent State Univ., Belgium. Original in Dutch: Engl. transl. World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge. 4. Dragesco-Joffé A. 1993. La vie sauvage au Sahara. 5. Driscoll C. and Nowell K. 2010. Felis silvestris. In IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.1. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 05 September 2013. 6. Fuller T. K., Biknevicius A.R. and Kat P.W. 1988. Home range of an African wild cat, Felis silvestris (Schreber) near Elmenteita, Kenya. Z. Säugetierk. 53, 380-381. 7. Driscoll C. A., Menotti Raymond M., Roca A. L., Hupe K., Johnson W. E., Geffen E., Harley E., Delibes M., Pontier D., Kitchener A. C., Yamaguchi N., O'Brien S. J. & Macdonald D. 2007. The Near Eastern Origin of Cat Domestication. Science express (28 June 2007),1-6. 8. Gasperetti J., Harrison D. L. & Büttiker W. 1986. The carnivora of Arabia. Fauna of Saudi Arabia 7, 397-461. 9. Gibson DStC. The status and distribution of small carnivores in Zimbabwe, pp. 66. 10. Green R. 1991. Wild cat species of the world. Basset, Plymouth. 11. Harrison D. L. & Bates P. J. J. -
Predicting Human Performance for Face Recognition
Predicting Human Performance for Face Recognition1 Alice J. O’Toole Fang Jiang The University of Texas at Dallas The University of Texas at Dallas Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Dana Roark Hervé Abdi The University of Texas at Dallas The University of Texas at Dallas Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Abstract The ability of humans to recognize faces provides an implicit benchmark for gauging the performance of automatic face recognition algorithms. In this chapter we review the factors that affect human accuracy. These factors can be classified into facial stucture constraints and viewing parameters. The former include factors such as face typicality, gender, and ethnicity. The latter include changes in illumination and viewpoint, as well as the perceptual complications introduced when we see faces and people in motion. The common thread of the chapter is that human experience and familiarity with faces can overcome many, if not all, of these challenges to face recognition. A goal of computional algorithms should be to emulate the ways in which humans acquire familiarity with faces. It may then be possible to apply these principles to the design of algorithms to meet the pressing challenges of face recognition in naturalistic vieiwng conditions. 9.1 Introduction Human face recognition abilities are impressive by comparison to the performance of many current automatic face recognition systems. Such is the belief of many psy- chologists and computer scientists. This belief, however, is supported more by anec- dotal impression than by scientific evidence. In fact, there are relatively few system- atic and direct comparisons between the performance of humans and automatic face recognition algorithms, (though see [84], for exceptions).