What does the rarest wild cat in the world look like and where does it live?

What does the rarest wild cat in the world look like and where does it live?

In March, a photo of serpens cattus, a snake cat, went viral on social media. It has been argued that she is the rarest feline on the planet, which lives in areas of the Amazon River so inaccessible that it was not possible to photograph the animal for the first time until 2023.

The posts also said that the snake cat weighs only four kilograms and is almost impossible to housebreak. However, it soon became clear that cattus snakes are most notable for their diet: they feed on gullible users who are unable to tell fake from real news.

The snake cat turned out to be fiction: the picture with its image was created by a neural network, and a prankster came up with a description. As zoologists were quick to explain, a snapshot of a mangrove snake, which has an eye-catching black and yellow color, was used for illustration.

So there is no snake cat. Thus, the rarest feline title belongs to another animal. But what?

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Meet the Asian Cheetah!

It is also often called Iranian due to the fact that individuals of this subspecies are now kept only in Iran. The Asian cheetah almost resembles the African cheetah (only its coat is shorter), but the genetic differences between them are very significant.

Once upon a time, Asian cheetahs were common, but now they have almost disappeared – poachers have destroyed them for their skins, and besides, the animal has become a popular hunting object among aristocrats. To date, the population of Asian cheetahs is only 40 individuals living in protected areas of Iran.

Five interesting facts about the Asian cheetah

  • Asian cheetahs live alone, but for hunting they can unite in small herds of up to four animals.

  • Asian cheetahs almost never breed in captivity. In general, the female usually gives birth to two to six kittens.

  • Between 2001 and 2012, a grant of $720,000 was allocated for Asian cheetah conservation in Iran. This did not help: in 2017, the number of individuals fell from 100 to 40.

  • Of the 40 animals, 20 were photographed: they fell into the lens of camera traps.

  • Asian cheetahs are not as aggressive towards humans as other big cats: not a single case of these animals attacking humans has been recorded.

In captivity, Asian leopards practically do not breed. Once upon a time they were widespread

almost nothing visually differs from the African – he only has

Source: The Voice Mag

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