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| Thai Wildlife > Rare or Extinct |
Marbled Cat
Species: Pardofelis marmorata (Martin, 1837)
Synonyms: Felis diardi (Jardine, 1834); Fe1is marmorata (Marin, 1837); Fe1is longicaudata (Balinville, 1843); Leopardus dosul (Gray, 1863)
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Common name: Marbled Cat
The marbled cat is only slightly bigger than the house cat. The body markings are faded like that seen in marble hence the name. It is a small cat that has a rounded head with an elongated body. The bushy tail is very long measuring a length longer than the head and the body combined. The ears are black and round with a white spot behind the ear .The body fur is brownish yellow and soft and on the underside is even softer. The cornea is large and brown. The chin and upper lip are white and upper fangs are small but long. The feet have a skin membrane covering each toe thus it can retract all claws. The faded body markings are large and continuous with small black spots on the tail.
The size of the Thai marbled cat is 45-53 centimeters. The tail is about 47.5-55 centimeters. The hind legs measure 11.5-12.0 centimeters with a body weight of 2-5 kilograms.
The habitat in Asia of the marbled cat stretches from the Himalayas including Nepal, Sikkim, Assam in India, Burma, Thailand, Indochina, Malaysia, Sumatra, and Borneo. Today the marbled cat is very rare in all of these areas. They can still be found in the high mountains of India and Borneo. In Thailand they can be found in the forests of the Tanaosri mountains and the forests of the south but are very rare. They are definitely found in the forest reserve at Huay Ka Keng in Uthaithani.
The marbled cat is very good at hiding and especially good in climbing trees. It lives along the water sources in the dense forests and they hide in the high trees and go out to feed at night.
The marbled cat eats small rodents and birds and are relatively fierce, stalking prey on the forest floor. It mates like domestic cats, all year round and lifespan is about 12 years.
They have rapidly approached extinction due to their fierce nature as they do not like people and tend to react viciously therefore they get killed in confrontation. In addition, due to their beautiful coloring they are sought after by zoos and collectors. This puts them along the ranks of the expensive animals making them prime targets for poaching. Also their habitat have been rapidly destroyed. The marbled cat is now close to extinction.
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