In order to detect biological diversity, Guangdong Chebaling carried out infrared camera detection of wildlife. The project was launched in March 2020. A lot of animals were found during the acceptance process, as well as sparrowhawk, spotted wood beaver, beaver , Hainanese tabby bitter, sambar And other national-level protected animals. Among them, the experts found a small cat who calmly walked past the camera.
It is this animal that looks like a cat and has attracted the extreme attention of experts.
I saw that its whole body was brown, its eyes were staring straight ahead, he walked domineeringly, and disappeared in the lens for a while. At first, experts thought it was an ordinary wild cat, possibly abandoned by humans and wandering in the woods. After multiple inspections by experts, the cat is a protected animal in China-" stone tiger ".
What is a stone tiger?
The origin of the name of the stone tiger: According to records, it is because when this animal meets a human, it will be frightened and stay motionless, just like a stone, so it is named "Stone Tiger" , But due to the long history of the name, there is no way to verify it.
Actually, Shihu has several names. For example, the leopard, which is shrunk because of its appearance, is also called " octopus "; because it is often poached from farm chickens,Also known as "catch the chicken tiger"; there are also lynx, civet cat and other titles. It is not difficult to see from its alias that this is a small animal that resembles a cat, a tiger, and a leopard.
Its appearance is not much different from that of our ordinary domestic cat, even if you see it in the wild, you will think it is cute and you want to touch it. If you think this way, you are very wrong, because it is a very aggressive animal and a natural king of predators!
The difference between a stone tiger and a domestic cat
The size of a stone tiger is only slightly larger than a domestic cat , which is considered a thinner category of cats, and the body of an adult stone tiger The length is between 40 cm and 60 cm, and the weight will reach 4.5 kg to 6.8 kg.
Compared with the chubby head of the domestic cat, and the lazy pace, Shihu appears more energetic. With a long and pointed face, round eyes and sharp claws, it is a natural king of predators. Compared to the north, in the absence of large carnivores in the south, it has also become a beast of the south.
The most similar domestic cat to Shihu is , which is also a common cat species in our daily life.
From the appearance, the coat color of the tabby cat is mostly light brown, and the coat color of the stone tiger is mostly yellow-brown. There is a white streak on the face extending from the corner of the eye to the nose, which is also a feature of coat color that domestic cats lack. The pattern of the tabby cat is a black pattern distributed all over the body.The pattern of the stone tiger is dotted or circled, similar to a leopard.
raccoon cat
stone tiger
However, there is a huge difference in the color of stone tigers between the north and the south. The south is mostly yellowish brown, and the north is mostly grayish brown.
These coat colors are mainly to adapt to changes in the local environment. When they hunt, they are easier to camouflage and are not easy to be spotted by prey. The tail of the stone tiger is longer than that of the domestic cat, and its limbs are longer than the domestic cat. This is more conducive to its predation in the wild.
The King of Predators
As a carnivorous animal, the stone tiger mainly hunts in ambushes.
Strong and fierce is synonymous with it. Unlike domestic cats, stone tigers never dig sand to bury their feces and are not afraid of their natural enemies following the smell to find themselves. This is more similar to tigers.
Stone Tiger recipes are also quite rich. It can climb trees up to catch squirrels, and down into rivers to catch fish and shrimps. Rabbits and wild boar cubs that are a little larger are also its prey targets. In the absence of food, snakes, insects, birds It can be caught.
It has 28 to 30 teeth, four sharp canine teeth can easily bite off the spine of a mouse, and a thorny tongue can easily lick bones.
There are sharp nails hidden under his agile limbs,As long as it hits the prey, the sharp nails will be embedded in the prey to prevent the prey from escaping.
The stone tiger is very smart. It knows that all its prey needs to drink water, so it often hangs out in places with abundant water sources. After smelling the breath of the prey, it will wait very patiently. When the time is right, it will jump up and bite the throat of the prey. Until the prey dies, it will open its mouth and slowly enjoy the food.
The biggest natural enemy of the stone tiger
The stone tiger has almost no natural enemies in nature. It can grow freely. But with the development of science and technology, mankind has become the natural enemy of Shihu. In the early 1970s, my country's stone tigers were hunted and killed in large numbers.
Because folk rumors that stone tigers have a lot of meat and bones can be used as medicine, many hunters point their weapons at the stone tigers, and one stone tiger after another is sent to the table hospital. There are hunting traps everywhere in the forest. And because of its smooth and gorgeous fur, unique patterns, and few clothes made, it once became a sought-after object for upper-class ladies.
Hunters skinned and cut meat and deboned, and more stone tigers died. In those years, our country collected as many as 100,000 furs every year, and the number of stone tigers dropped sharply, and even became an endangered species.
As the country and the people pay more and more attention to the protection of wild animals, the stone tiger was saved again. In recent years, the state has severely cracked down on poachers and formulated laws and regulations prohibiting the hunting of stone tigers. The habitat of the stone tiger is improving year by year, and the number is slowly increasing. That's why there are many reports of Shihu.
In October 2020,A picture of the mother stone tiger playing with 4 little stone tigers was taken in the Gansu Nature Reserve. In June 2020, the Shenzhen Wutong Mountain Leopard cat bowed his head and passed the camera. In August 2020, the traces of stone tigers appeared in Zhejiang.
Gansu Shihu mother takes her four children to play
Shenzhen Wutong Mountain Shihu passing by
The large number of stone tigers also indicates that the ecological environment of our country is getting better, so there will be so many Wild animals appeared in our camera. More and more wild animals are protected, and the protection awareness of Chinese citizens is constantly improving. The number of animals such as my country's giant pandas, Tibetan antelope , etc., is continuously increasing.
Currently, stone tigers are still wild animals that cannot be kept privately. The stone tigers you see on the website are all bengal leopard cats , which is a kind of pet cat. Except for the habits, the appearance is almost similar to the stone tiger, with 1/8 of the blood of the stone tiger. It is a new breed that has been bred with domestic cats for many generations after manual intervention, until it meets the domestic cat breeding standards. It has no wild nature and is completely suitable for domestication.
pet leopard cat
If you encounter a stone tiger in the wild, remember to report to the relevant department in time. It is the duty of every citizen to protect wild animals. In the future, I believe that our country will create a society where people and animals live in harmony.
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