Chinese mountain cat
The gray cat or Gobikatze (Felis bieti ) is a species within the family of cats. Sometimes it as a subspecies of the wildcat ( Felis silvestris as bieti ) is classified. The name occasionally used steppe cat can lead to confusion with the homonymous Wildcats type and should therefore be avoided. The gray cat cat species is a rare, little is known about the. The World Conservation Union ( IUCN) lists it as threatened ( vulnerable ). It is listed in CITES Convention in Appendix B.
Features
The gray cat is 80 cm long, this is a 35 cm long tail. Adult weighs from 6.5 to 9 kilograms. The belly underside is lighter, the back rather darker. Among the ears there is a pale reddish-brown fur body. The tail is marked with several rings and ends in a dark tip. The body is very compact, the legs are relatively short, very hairy paws subpages.
Distribution, numbers and habitat
The range of the gray cat lying on the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau in western China, where it grows in the eastern Qinghai and northern Sichuan. The gray cat is endemic in China, that is, it occurs only here. Their habitat includes montane mountain forests, alpine scrub and meadows. The species is threatened by poaching poisons, ( for rodent control ) and habitat changes.
Way of life
Over the life of this cat is so far very little is known. The analysis of 32 fecal samples indicate that rodents constitute the bulk of the prey. They also eat pikas and hunt birds, including pheasants. It is assumed that the gray cat is crepuscular and nocturnal and spends the day in their construction.
Discovery history
Skins of gray cat were first collected in 1889 by members of the French expedition that traveled under the direction of Henri Philippe Marie d' Orléans and Gabriel Bonvalot to Central Asia. The skins were found at markets in the Chinese province of Sichuan. Based on these skins the way 1892 was scientifically described. The copies are now in the Musée d' Histoire Naturelle in Paris.
Worldwide, only six live animals in 2007 were known in Chinese zoos and twenty skins and a few skulls, which are kept in museums. The first held at the zoo specimen was shown by the Beijing Zoo from 1974 to 1978. In the summer of 2007 in the Tibetan plateau using " camera traps" recorded in their natural surroundings for the first time some photos of animals.