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Leopard cat - FELlS BENGALENSIS
Endangered
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Leopard": "Leopard" is two words combined, "leon pard," meaning "lion (large) cat." "Cat" is the Old English word for the animal.
Location: Eastern Asia.
Habitat: Terrestrial. Forest and woodland, to an altitude of 10,000 feet.
Description: The ground color is yellowish-ochre or brown on the back, and the underside of the body and the insides of the legs are white. On the head and the nape of the neck there are four or five black stripes running lengthwise, which break up into two to four irregular rows of dark markings on the back. There are two conspicuous white and black markings above and in front of the eyes. The many geographical subspecies vary greatly in size: the length of head and body of the smallest, found in Java, only reaches 20 inches, while that of the largest, found in north China, can grow six inches longer. The tail can be up to ten inches long, and the animal will weigh about six pounds.
Behavior: The leopard cat is solitary and hunts mainly in the twilight hours and at night. It is an agile climber, even on quite fragile branches, and it can swim very well. It is usually found in places where there is a permanent and abundant water supply. It preys on rodents, birds, hares, and also eats bats and fawns.
Reproduction: The gestation period lasts about 70 days, and litters usually consist of three or four young.
Go to the Carnivore Page to learn more about all the meat-eating animals.
Or go to the Cat Index to study other
wild cats.
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