A Checklist To The 13 Wild Cats Of Sri Lanka

1
THE CEYLON LEOPARD
Unlike other leopards, notably the ones that inhabit India, the Sri Lankan has no other rival predators, and this has inspired so great a degree of evolution that Sri Lanka’s leopards are now considered to be a separate and quite distinct sub species, only to be found on the island. This lack of competition has probably helped account for their size - averaging six feet in length, head to tail, and weighing anything up to 220 pounds, making it larger than other leopard species. Solitary and with a life expectancy of around 15 years, it is also far less aggressive than others; and quite comfortable hunting through both day and night. It has a preference for the cooler highlands and has developed thicker fur and fat layers to stay warm. It is differentiated from other leopards too in its rosettes which are closer-set and smaller than any other species.


2
THE BLACK LEOPARD
An errant gene in the leopard population provides the rarest of leopards, the Black Leopard, of whom there have been only a few firm sightings. One in every three hundred leopards born has the propensity to be black.


3
THE SRI LANKAN LION
The Sri Lankan lion is thought to have become extinct in 37,000 BCE. Panthera Leo Sinhaleyus, as the sub species is known, only came to light in 1936 when two fossilized teeth were discovered near Ratnapura. From this a lost sub species was uncovered, its size indicating that the beast was a lion much larger than the present Indian lion. Back in 37,000 BCE, Sri Lanka was a very different place to what it would become, an island of open grasslands a habitat perfect for lions. But over time, as the monsoon rainforest fuelled the proliferation of trees, its habitat become ever more restricted and at some point, the creature just died out. The National Flag aside, the lion lives on still in many a temple and ancient fortress, in statues and even biscuits and breweries.


4
THE SRI LANKAN TIGER
The discovery of a left lower tooth near Ratnapura in 1962 and a sub-fossil of a paw bone dating back 16,500 years revealed the lost existence of the Sri LAkan Tiger (Panthera Tigris). Tigers arrived in India 12,000 years ago and spread from there. But this was not this Tiger sub species that wandered across the then existing land bridge from India to Sri Lanka – but another one altogether, one that was native to central Asia, eastern and northern China, Japan, northern Siberia, Sumatra, and Java.


5
THE CEYLON ASIATIC CHEETAH
The Ceylon Asiatic Cheetah was a distinctly different version of the Africa Cheetah and once roamed the world from Arabia and the Caspian to South Asia and Sri Lanka, until around ten thousand years ago. Today they are no longer found in Sri Lanka and in Asia their numbers are in steep decline.


6
THE JUNGLE CAT
The Jungle Cat (Felis Chaus) is thriving right across it distribution range – from Sri Lanka to China, the Middle East, to the Caucasus. Wholly sandy in colour, and roughly twice the size of the house cat, it lives its very solitary life feasting off birds and small animals, the hermit of the cat world. It has a variety of sub species, including one in Sri Lanka (Felis Chaus Kelaarti) but none so distinct as to excite cries for endemic status. It sticks to warmer locations within Sri Lanka but abounds in grassland and forest - whatever offers the greatest cover and food.


7
THE INDIAN FISHING CAT
Double the size of a domestic cat, and weighing up to almost 40 pounds, the Indian Fishing Cat is found in Sri Lanka and across South and Southeast Asia – but is increasingly vulnerable due to habitat loss. It has slightly webbed paws and, given its proclivity for fish, prefers to live around the island’s wetlands, rivers, lake and stream banks, swamps, and mangroves. Its striking yellow grey fur displays confident black strips along the head and upper back that fray into dots and stipples further down the body. Its fur is specially layered to give it an extra barrier to water. Its lives up to ten years, with pregnancies lasting two months, after which two or three kittens are born.


8
THE RUSTY-SPOTTED CAT
The Rusty-Spotted Cat is the world’s smallest wild cat, smaller even than most domestic cats and one of the least studied and understood of the wild cat species. Covered in reddish fur, it is found in dry forests and grasslands and is largely nocturnal, feasting off insects, small birds, rodents, frogs, and possibly small lizards as well as domestic fowl. They produce a litter of rarely more than three kittens after a two month pregnancy. Found only in Sri Lanka and India, their conservation status is threatened, with unending encroachments on its habitats fragmenting its home range.


9
THE ASIAN PALM CIVET
The Asian Palm Civet lives in generous numbers across Sri Lanka, South, and Southeast Asia. It is little more than five kilos in weight, its stocky body painted with gorgeous markings: grey fur with a white forehead, white dots under its eyes and beside its nostrils. Although primarily forest dwelling, it has acclimatised to urban life with alacrity, making its home in attics and unused civic spaces – and of course, palm plantations.


10
THE WET ZONE GOLDEN PALM CIVET
Similar in size and colour to other civets, it keeps to the rainforests. It emits a pleasant odour from its anal glands - described as reminiscent of magnolia flowers.


11
THE MONTANE GOLDEN PALM CIVET
Golden brown on its backs and lighter gold on its stomachs like all palm civets, the montane sub species is, to the trained eye, a little darker all round. From nose to bottom it measure 40 to 70 centimetres and weighs 3 to 10 pounds. Secretive, and forest loving creatures, it lives in tree hollows within the forested parts of the island.


12
THE DRY-ZONE PALM CIVET
Similar in size and colouring to other palm civets through the tail is often lighter than the body. It is found mainly in the dry zones of Sri Lanka.


13
THE SRI LANKAN MOUNTAIN PALM CIVET
Some scientists are now claiming that another civet also merits separate recognition: the Sri Lankan Mountain Palm Civet (Paradoxurus supp), found only in Dickoya.