The prairie spotted cat is a national second-level protected animal. The prairie spotted cat is also called a wild cat, a desert spotted cat, and a bandicoot. This kind of cat is a little larger than a domestic cat. They like to travel through grasslands or oases for food. In China, they are mainly found in Xinjiang, Gansu, Ningxia and other provinces. The "List of National Key Protected Wild Animals" promulgated by the Chinese government in 1988 classified this species as a second-level key protected animal.

1. Characteristics of prairie spotted cats

The body color of the prairie spotted cat is light sandy yellow or sandy gray, with a light yellowish gray belly. It is larger than a domestic cat, with a body length of 50cm-70cm and a tail length of 25cm-35cm. The length of the tail is exactly half of the body length. The prairie spotted cat weighs about 8kg and looks relatively rough. The back of the body is light sandy yellow to light yellowish gray. There are many irregular brown-black patches and horizontal stripes all over the body, there are brown-black tufts on the tips of the ears, there are 5-6 black-brown horizontal stripes on the tail, and the underside of the tail is white.

2. Distribution of prairie spotted cats

There are only subspecies of prairie spotted cats in Xinjiang in China, mainly distributed in Ningxia, Gansu and Xinjiang. There are many distributions abroad: Africa, Arabia, Iran, Syria, southwestern Indian Peninsula, southern Europe, etc. The main grassland spotted cat reserves include: Snow Ridge Spruce, Luoshan, Tomur Peak, Qinghai Lake Bird Island, Wanglang, Wolong, Lop Nur wild camel reserves, etc. Judging from previous relevant inspections, no living ones have been seen in the wild, and the number of species is quite small. It is difficult to estimate the existing number. Perhaps the population in northwest China may exceed 10,000, and the estimated density is 10/100 square kilometers. Prairie spotted cats play a great role in suppressing rampant rodent pests. In the 1980s, there were 1,500 prairie spotted cat furs purchased, but now there are basically none.

3. Living habits of prairie spotted cats

The main habitats of prairie spotted cats include shrubs and semi-shrub deserts composed of tamarisk, jujube, ephedra, licorice, wild hemp, etc. They can also appear in reed meadows or reed clumps, marine fish grassland swamps and basins and basins below 1,000 meters above sea level. Low mountainous and deep forest areas. Prairie spotted cats have strong adaptability to the environment, but generally do not enter areas covered by heavy snow, and their activities are basically in arid areas. Prairie spotted cats are active alone at dusk or night, and hide in tree hollows or bushes during the day. Prairie spotted cats hunt very well and have strong territorial behavior. The territory occupied by an individual is 0.5 square kilometers.

The breeding period of prairie spotted cats is from January to March, and the female's estrus lasts for 2 to 8 days. At this time, the males will surround the female and make some harsh sounds to court. At this time, the male group will have fierce fights together. . One litter per year, each litterThere are 2-3 cubs, and the gestation period is about 60 days. The weight of the cub is 40 grams at birth. It can open its eyes in 10 days. It starts to move out of the cave at 4 to 5 weeks old. It plays with the female after 3 months. It starts to live independently after 5 months. It matures in 1 year. , generally the life span of a prairie spotted cat is more than 15 years.

IV. Prairie spotted cat breeds

There are three types of wild cats in the world

1. African wild cat: This cat is distributed in the mountains, plains and forests of Africa and Arabia. But it is not distributed in tropical rainforests. The African wildcat in North Africa is also the ancestor of the domestic cat.

2. European Wildcat: Distributed in most parts of Europe except Scandinavia. Mainly inhabit deciduous broad-leaved forest and coniferous forest belt.

3. Asian wild cat: also called Indian wild cat. Distributed in the Middle East, India, Russia and China, the wild cat in China is called the prairie spotted cat. Mainly live in relatively arid areas.

These wild cats have certain differences in appearance. African wild cats are lighter in color than European wild cats. The main colors are gray and brown. Cats in forest areas are darker. There are wavy dark markings on the body. European wild cats generally have thicker fur and larger heads than domestic cats. Cats in different regions also have different body colors. Asian wild cats are smaller and have brown-gray gray fur. .