AFRICAN WILDCAT, Felis libyca

WHAT IT IS

The wild prototype of a tabby cat. Distinguished from domesticated tabby by longer legs, more upright seated posture, and reddish, unmarked, translucent ears. Male wt 8-14 lbs (3.7 6.4 kg), head and body length 21-25 in (53 63 cm); female wt 7-12 lbs (3.2 5.4 kg), head and body length 20.4-23 in (51 58 cm). Tail: 3/5 of head and body length. Color variable; darker in wet, paler in dry regions; gray or tan, occasionally orange or black; dark garters on upper legs, fainter stripes on torso, indistinct spots on chest; tail ringed, black tipped; underparts lighter; young like adults. Teats=8.

WHERE IT LIVES

All over Africa outside Sahara and Lowland Rainforest. Domesticated by Egyptians as early as 4000 BC. Commonest African cat, interbreeds freely with domestic cats.

ECOLOGY

Wildcats live wherever mice and rats thrive including environs of towns and villages. As the densest rodent populations inhabit grasslands, wildcats are commonest in savannas, even living on treeless plains e.g., Ngorongoro Crater floor, where they use holes dug by other animals as refuges from hordes of larger predators. Eat rodents mainly, supplemented by birds, lizards, snakes, and frogs; also large insects and other invertebrates. The biggest game taken by wildcats are hares and springhares.

ACTIVITY

Occasionally seen sunning outside burrow in morning, but strictly nocturnal in areas where game and other carnivores are abundant.

SOCIAL/MATING SYSTEM

Knowledge of the African wildcat rests on studies of the domesticated form, and on studies of the European wildcat (F. silvestris), which may be the same species in a slightly different form. Social and mating organization of the African wildcat is probably close to the European wildcat's.
Females fiercely defend a small core area within home range of perhaps 123 to 247 acres (50-100 ha). Mature tomcats include the ranges of up to 3 females in their territories. Undefended parts of the home range are the shared hunting grounds of all cats in the local population. Each cat that enters checks carefully to learn who's around, searching for and depositing in turn urine and glandular secretions, using vantage points to scan the neighborhood. If another cat is spotted, the later arrival waits for it to depart, although sometimes family groups and pairs of African wildcats have been seen hunting together.

FORAGING/PREDATORY BEHAVIOR

Unstudied but similar to a domestic cat's.

REPRODUCTION

Annual, 2 to 5 kittens most born during rains; gestation 56 to 60 days; females fully grown and breeding at 1 year; males mature at 2 to 3 years. Domestic cats stay in estrus 4 days, ovulate day after mating. Several males have been seen accompanying an African wildcat in heat.

OFFSPRING AND MATERNAL CARE

Kittens born in hole in ground, hollow tree, cave, or nest in dense vegetation. Eyes open 10 to 14 days; mobile within a month; accompany mother hunting before 3 months, and become independent at 5 months. Two hand-reared females became antagonistic and fought for the same territory after littering. Yet each brought dead mice and birds as food offerings for the other's kittens, suggesting tcndency to communal care.

DIFFERENCES lN WILDCAT BEHAVIOR

Differences from domestic cat, if any, have yet to be detailed.

Reprinted from "The Safari Companion" by Richard Estes
nature@nature-wildlife.com