Leopard cat publication update 2015 to 2017

Some leopard cat publications were out in the last two years, and I try to keep track of as many as possible. Some quick thoughts and summary:

Nakanishi & Izawa took a look at the importance of frogs in the diet of the leopard cats from Iriomote Island, Japan. I must say that the Japanese are the gold standard in leopard cat species biology work with the population on Iriomote Island. They examined the stomach contents and compared the results to scat analysis, which is traditionally more frequently used as it is less invasive. Frogs appeared to be important, but under represented compared to scat studies.

Meanwhile. Srivathsa et al. were one of the first to use camera traps to estimate leopard cat population density in India. The density in in forests there appear to be similar to Sabah, but below what we have on Pulau Tekong, Singapore.

Going back about 5,000 years ago, it seems that leopard cats had some close interaction or relationship with Neolithic people in China. The authors (Vigne et al.) use the term “domestic”, but I’ll hesitate to do so in the strict sense of the word.

And finally, a molecular phylogeography of the leopard cat sampled across its global distribution. Rather important that this is done, and the coverage is quite admirable. I cannot say the results are unexpected though (see image below).

Distribution of leopard cat subspecies suggested by Patel et al. (2017). Image from paper.

Arjun Srivathsa, Ravishankar Parameshwaran, Sushma Sharma, K. Ullas Karanth. (2015) Estimating population sizes of leopard cats in the Western Ghats using camera surveys. Journal of Mammalogy 96(4): 742-750. doi: 10.1093/jmammal/gyv079

Nakanishi, N. & Izawa, M. (2016) Importance of frogs in the diet of the Iriomote cat based on stomach content analysis. Mammal Research 61: 35. doi:10.1007/s13364-015-0246-9

Riddhi P. Patel, Saskia Wutke, Dorina Lenz, Shomita Mukherjee, Uma Ramakrishnan, Géraldine Veron, Jörns Fickel, Andreas Wilting, Daniel W. Förster. (2017) Genetic Structure and Phylogeography of the Leopard Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) Inferred from Mitochondrial Genomes. J Hered 2017 esx017. doi: 10.1093/jhered/esx017

Vigne J-D, Evin A, Cucchi T, Dai L, Yu C, Hu S, et al. (2016) Earliest “Domestic” Cats in China Identified as Leopard Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis). PLoS ONE 11(1): e0147295. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0147295

Leopard cat (and other rainforest biodiversity) art by Loy Xingwen

I was brought to the attention to this artwork of Loy Xingwen by a colleague of mine, Jeremy Yeo.

Leopard cat by Loy Xingwen

Leopard cat by Loy Xingwen

This series of illustrations, including this beautiful leopard cat, was made using PowerPoint (Microsoft Corporation, Washington – [with ref. to this in Science]). PowerPoint! While the rest of us are struggling with re-sizing AutoShapes,  he is creating these sleek layered and shaded masterpieces. He has kindly given permission for his artwork to be reproduced here.

Accompanying the image is a write up:

This beautiful animal was once believed to be national extinct but a recent study has found that they are definitely still hanging on. Win! Nevertheless, they remain critically endangered in Singapore. Here, they are mainly threatened by the clearing of forests. The leopard cat is similar in size to a domestic cat and is a predator, hunting small animals such as rats, lizards and birds. Needless to say, it is very elusive and rarely seen.”

Xingwen is a plant ecologist at the University of Queensland, and started this project to raise awareness about Singapore’s natural heritage through his art. See the rest of the planned 40 rainforest biodiversity of Singapore art at his Facebook album here.

Publication updates and leopard cat featured in a children’s book

Some updates and news regarding leopard cats in Singapore:

Our first international peer-reviewed publication from the leopard cat study has been accepted in Mammal Research. Look out for it soon.

Meanwhile, I was asked to contribute some sighting records to Singapore Biodiversity Records of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum earlier this year:

1. Chua, M.A.H. 2015. Leopard cat in Western Catchment Area. Singapore Biodiversity Records 2015: 6. [PDF]
2. Chua, M.A.H. 2015. Leopard cat in Central Catchment Nature Reserve. Singapore Biodiversity Records 2015: 20. [PDF]

Was pleasant surprised when I was informed that the leopard cat is featured in a children’s book, Timmy and Tammy Discover Singapore’s Wildlife Wonders by Hwee Goh. Had worked with the author to facilitate another section of the book about the natural history museum, and was glad when she informed me that she was featuring the leopard cat. The book is available in book stores now, and is a good introduction to wildlife in Singapore for children.

SWW - leopard cat

Page excerpt from Timmy & Tammy Discover Singapore’s Wildlife Wonders by Hwee Goh.