Help the development of the site, sharing the article with friends!
The felines, commonly known as felines, are a particular animal group that has a wide range of distribution, from savannas to tropical forests, except only for Antarctica, Madagascar and Australia. The taxonomic group is characterized by having the quietest hunters in nature, on which their carnivorous diet depends. They are the only group with retractable claws, they can reach speeds of up to 100 km / h and some even have specific incomplete ossifications within the oral cavity that allow them to roar. Unfortunately, there are currently five species of endangered felines. 13% of the group is threatened and in danger of disappearing, 34% is vulnerable, 16% near threatened and 37% are of less concern but with decreasing trends in their communities. Analyzing these numbers we observe that less than half of the felines are out of risk of disappearing.
If you want to know more about it, in this Green Ecologist article we inform you about endangered felines and the causes that have brought them to the brink of extinction.
Tiger
The species of felidae that heads this situation of danger of extinction is the orange tiger (Panthera tigris)[1] made up of six subspecies, that lives in Asia, especially in India and Thailand. In these areas, urbanized developments have increased to meet industrial, commercial and tourism demands, eliminating the forests where tigers live in their wake. Likewise, their skins are in high demand, as well as their meat and bones for supposedly medicinal uses.
Three subspecies of this genus have already become extinct, so it is urgent that action be taken on the six subspecies that still exist. Unfortunately, most of the tigers that exist today are in captivity, these being an important part of conservation strategies to retrieve tigers from extinction.
Here you can read more about the endangered Tigers.
Borneo red cat
The Red Cat of Borneo (Catopuma badia)[2]It is a felid that has been difficult to track due to the stealthy behavior of wild cats. Despite Borneo being an island with thick forests that have not yet been studied much, it has experienced strong industrialization together with agricultural practices that are not very responsible for the production of palm oil, which increases the vulnerability of forests that lack interest. and investment for ecosystem studies that protect the Borneo cat.
Iberian lynx
An exceptional example within the endangered species is the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus)[3] and [4], which lives in the Iberian Peninsula. Due to the growth of urban areas their populations were reduced, but thanks to government efforts of Spain they have been created conservation strategies concrete to recover the communities and even to reinsert it in Portugal, an area where it had already become extinct. Thanks to this, the population trend of this species is growing, being this the only species among the threatened felines that shows recovery of their populations.
Read more about this feline in this other article on Why the Iberian lynx is in danger of extinction.
Andean cat
Another species of endangered felines It is the Andean catLeopardus jacobita)[5], which spans the rocky slopes of the Andes, from Peru to Argentina. They are threatened by hunting for cultural use and as a control to avoid the decrease of livestock, as well as by the reduction of their prey, and by the growth of the mining and fracking industry in the area. On the other hand, they are also used by local communities of Quechua and Aymara origin in rituals to promote livestock or agriculture, and have even been used as food or traditional medicine.
Image: TW
Flat head cat
Lastly, there is the flat-headed cat (Prionailurus planiceps)[6] that inhabits Malaysian wetlands, ecosystems that are rapidly shrinking by overfishing and intensive agriculture. The species is threatened by urbanization, as well as timber and palm tree plantations. There is not much information on the habits of this species, which also reflects the little interest in conservation, which leads to the Danger of Extinction. Sometimes their skins are even used as decoration in longhouses in Malaysia.
Feline species in a vulnerable state
There are 13 species of felids in a vulnerable state[7]In other words, there are significant reductions in their populations, and with a high probability of becoming in danger of extinction. Among these species are the iconic Lion (Breadthera himor) that lives in the south of the African continent, as well as the cheetah or cheetahAcinonyx jubatus) wave Borneo Clouded Panther (Neofelis diardi). These vulnerable species share degraded spaces similar to threatened felines, which is why they are expected to move to this classification in the near future.
Here you can read about Are lions in danger of extinction?
Causes of endangered and vulnerable felines
Although extinctions are caused by certain situations related to the species and the geographical area, there are some causes more frequent than others.
- Statistically, one of the activities that most threatens felines is the chase and control, since their carnivorous habits they look for food in the cattle that is in border with their habitats, to which the ranchers respond with hunting to prevent the number of their animals from decreasing. It is understandable that ranchers want to protect their livestock, but strategies are already being developed to decrease persecution. For example, in Costa Rica, the Unit for Attention to the Conflict with Felines promoted the addition of bells to calves to scare away the felines and the protection has been increased in the livestock keeping sites, which has achieved a 96% decrease in the predation.
- The next cause that has led felines to danger of extinction is the intentional hunting, both for sport and for trade. Today the concept of animal injustice represented by fur is widespread, but this was not the case before 1973. The international trade in fur was legal before this year. For example, in the 1960s, 11,000 legal jaguar skins were calculated from Brazil and 15,000 of tigrillo and ocelot were recorded in Mexico. Despite the ban on hunting, it is still carried out illegally today.
- There is also the threat due to changes in land use, as in the Amazon where deforestation is done annually to create arable fields. Is loss of habitat It is also reflected in the construction of roads within the jungles, which fragments the spaces and interrupts the transit of the felines. The possibility of crossing these roads means the risk of death, so frequently seen by the running over of jaguars or leopards.
It is important to remember that the feline family is made up of numerous species, among which the popular large cats can be distinguished, such as the tiger, lion, jaguar and leopard, belonging to the genus Panthera. We can also easily locate domestic cats with a scientific name (Felis catus). However, among these well-known species there are numerous wild cats that are not as well recognized, such as the manul (Otocolobus manul), which lives in the frozen mountains of Tibet, or the fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus), with swimming skills that lives in mangroves and rivers of Indochina. These felines also suffer the consequences of human development and it is vital to make them visible to recognize the pressure that environmental deterioration exerts on millions of species.
The importance of felines
The loss that advances daily on feline populations is irreparable given the value they have as a group. Its importance goes beyond what man perceives. They have ecosystem value, because when distributed throughout the planet, they function as indicators of conserved ecosystems. Likewise, their presence helps keep communities and food chains in balance. In case of eliminating the felines, pests or overpopulations can be generated.
In addition to this, the conservation of these mammals requires large physical spaces since, for example, a jaguar requires 30 square kilometers, so its conservation indirectly promotes the protection of hundreds of more species that live together with them, promoting more ecosystems. healthy. On the other hand, the group contains invaluable genetic information. This was generated 50 million years ago when the canids and felids separated, which 20 million years ago generated the first true feline, Pseudaelurus. Each species that approaches extinction means a setback on this evolutionary scale and a loss of genetic information.
Cat conservation should be a priority. Government efforts and public policies developed by various countries are not enough to halt environmental deterioration. Social commitment is also required to raise awareness about the ethical implications of putting a price on nature and destroying the habitats of hundreds of wild species.
We recommend you learn more about them by reading this other article about the Types of felines, their characteristics and examples.
If you want to read more articles similar to Felines in danger of extinctionWe recommend that you enter our category of Endangered Animals.
References- Goodrich, J., Lynam, A., Miquelle, D., Wibisono, H., Kawanishi, K., Pattanavibool, A., Htun, S., Tempa, T., Karki, J., Jhala, Y. & Karanth, U. (2015) Panthera tigris. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Available at: https://www.iucnredlist.org/es/species/15955/50659951
- Hearn, A., Brodie, J., Cheyne, S., Loken, B., Ross, J. & Wilting, A. (2016) Catopuma badia The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (online). Available at: https://www.iucnredlist.org/es/species/4037/112910221
- Iberian Lynx Working Group (2008) Strategy for the Conservation of the Iberian Lynx II (Lynx pardinus) (online). Available at: https://www.miteco.gob.es/es/biodiversidad/publicaciones/pbl_estrategia_linceii_tcm30-197296.pdf
- Rodríguez, A. & Calzada, J. (2015). Lynx pardinus The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (online). Available at: https://www.iucnredlist.org/es/species/12520/174111773
- Villalba, L., Lucherini, M., Walker, S., Lagos, N., Cossios, D., Bennett, M. & Huaranca, J. (2016) Leopardus jacobita. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (online). Available at: https://www.iucnredlist.org/es/species/15452/50657407
- Wilting, A., Brodie, J., Cheyne, S., Hearn, A., Lynam, A., Mathai, J., McCarthy, J., Meijaard, E., Mohamed, A., Ross, J., Sunarto, S. & Traeholt, C. (2015) Prionailurus planiceps. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (online). Available at: https://www.iucnredlist.org/es/species/18148/50662095
- IUCN Red list (2022) Felidae family, red list category vulnerable and endangered (online). Available at: https://www.iucnredlist.org/es/search/grid?taxonomies=101738&searchType=species
- Ceballos, G., List, R., Medellín, R., Bonacic, C., Pacheco, J. (2010) Felinos de América (online), Mexico City: Telefonos de México. Available at: https://bit.ly/3DUME04
- Olivier, G. (2005) "The jaguar in the Mexican worldview", Mexican Archeology no. 72, pp. 52-57. (online). Available at: https://arqueologiamexicana.mx/mexico-antiguo/el-jaguar-en-la-cosmovision-mexica
- National Geographic (2022) The mysterious wild cat from the island of Borneo (online). Available at: https://www.ngenespanol.com/naturaleza/el-misterioso-gato-salvaje-de-la-isla-de-borneo/
- Soto, M. (2016) 59 farms reduced feline attacks on livestock by 96% (online). Available at: https://www.nacion.com/ciencia/medio-ambiente/59-fincas-reduyó-en-96-los-ataques-de-felinos-a-ganado/K46TM7R44ZHW5NJVWH6LM6AK7I/story/
