Rare Species Of Cats

Rare Species Of  Cats 

Canadian Lynx
Canada lynx look similar to bobcats, but there are some distinguishing features: bobcats have shorter tufts on their ears, the tip of their tail is black on top and white underneath, and bobcats have shorter legs and smaller feet than lynx. Perhaps the biggest distinction is that lynx mostly occur only in northern states along the Canadian border or in mountainous regions, while bobcats range across almost the entire Lower 48 states.

Habitat: These Lynx are found in the broad boreal forest belt of North America.

Distribution: Canada, Alaska, and the northern contiguous United States

Sand Cat
The Sand CatFelis margarita is a true desert dweller and are the only felid to occur exclusively in desert habitat. They have numerous adaptations to an arid life and colouring that blends in with their environment.

Sand cats occur across the Sahara Desert, from Morocco in the west to as far as Egypt and the Sudan in the east. In Asia, they have been recorded in Syria, Iran, east of the Caspian Sea in Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Their presence in Pakistan is unknown. Sand Cats show a scattered distribution across the Arabian Peninsula but their status and distribution are not well known.

Pallas Cat
wild Cat species found in the grasslands and montane steppes of Central Asia. More commonly known as Pallas' cats, they are distinguished by having round pupils, short legs, and a flat-looking face with wide-set ears that can create some of the funniest expressions in the feline kingdom. The scientifical name of this Cat is Otocolobus, and it means 'ugly-eared,' so that is probably one of the reasons this fluffy Cat looks so annoyed.

Distribution: Manul occur in Central Asia, from the Caspian Sea through Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India to central China, Mongolia and southern Russia. Populations in the southwest portion of their range – the Caspian Sea region, Afghanistan and Pakistan – are diminishing, isolated and scarce. They are sparse in the Tibetan plateau where an elevation record of 5,050 m was recorded in 2007. Mongolia and Russia now make up the majority of their range.

Black-footed Cat
The Black-footed Cat Felis nigripes is Africa’s smallest felid, and among the smallest wild Cat species in the world.


The soft, dense coat ranges from dark to pale tawny gold, with a bold pattern of rounded dark brown to black spots which sometimes merge into bands or rings. Their large eyes are amber or greyish brown. The chin, chest, belly and insides of the legs are whitish, and the backs of the ears are pale brown. There are two dark streaks across each cheek, and dark bars on the forelegs and haunches. The short tail, about half the body length, has two or three black rings, tapering to a black tipped

point. As special adaptations to their desert habitat, these cats have a broad skull with large, rounded ears, which provide enhanced hearing in an area with scarce prey. Low-set ears are often completely flattened in an ‘aggressive’ posture, an adaptation to hunting in areas with little cover. They are protected from the hot sand by hair on the black soles of the feet.

Distribution: Black-footed cats are native to arid regions of the southern parts of Africa like Nambia, Zimbabwe, Angola but not is the driest or sandiest parts of the Namib or Kalahari deserts. Before its numbers decreased so much it had once been known to inhabit Botswana. Sadly, none have been seen in Botswana for a long time.