| August
2010: The
distribution or range of the Wildcat is set out below. Please
note: (1) the wildcat is a specific species of wild cat
(2) ranges of wildcats are not precise even for an expert (3) the classification of the wildcats into 5 subspecies is still debated. This
customised map is exclusive to PoC and free to use under a creative
commons attribution no derivates license. In other words anyone cat
download it and then upload it to their own server but it must be "as
is" without modification unless you contact
me and ask permission. The map is based on the IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species® map, which should be the most up to date and
accurate as that is their role. I cover the range of the various
subspecies of wildcats in words below the map. |
Wildcat
distribution is very wide when compared to some other wild cat species.
This is because the wild cat is adaptable allowing a variety of habitats to be acceptable.
Wildcat
Distribution - European wildcat - scientific name: felis silvestris silvestris (on the
map this is indicated by the words: F.s.silvestris).
Despite being persecuted by humankind this wily wildcat has survived
across quite large areas of mainland Europe. The wildcat disappeared
from all of the UK except in Scotland by the mid nineteenth
century1. The reason being that Scotland is
relatively remote (less human activity). Although the Scottish wildcat
has integrated into human society to a certain extent. This is good for
the survival of the individual cat and bad for survival of the species
as hybridization takes place; the wildcat mating with the unneutered
domestic cat.
Countries were the European wildcat is present include: Scotland, Spain,
Portugal, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Poland, Switzerland,
Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Yugoslavia,
Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey. In the former Soviet Union the
European wildcat can be found in Moldova and "on the Romanian border"1,
the Carpathian forests, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia1.
Wildcat
Distribution - African, Southern
African wildcat and Asian wildcat - These subspecies are
indicated by F.s. lybica,
F.s. cafra and F.s. ornata, respectively,
on the map. As can
be seen from the map the African wildcat range is both north and south
of the Sahara and it extends to the eastern edge of the Mediterranean and diminishing
parts of the Arabian peninsula as can be seen. It is absent in true desert and tropical forest1.
The wildcat is found in Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afganistan and
India. It would seem that there is a lack of clarity as to the exact
ranges of the African and Asian wildcats. Do they overlap for example?
Wildcat
Distribution - Chinese
Desert Cat or Chinese Mountain Cat - Scientific name F.s bieti on the
map. This cat was considered a separate species of wild cat in the
book, Wild Cats
Of The World (2002). I have listed it as a subspecies of
the wildcat pusuant to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species®
assessment due to studies published in 2009 ( (Kitchener and Rees 2009,
Macdonald et al.
in press). Things change. It is found in Shanxi, Gansu, Sichuan, Inner
Mongolia, Xingjiang and Qjinghai1.
The total countries where the wildcat is considered native, extinct and presence uncertain as at 2010 and as listed
by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species® are as follows: Wildcat
distribution - Native (originating, indigenous):
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Armenia, Austria,
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana,
Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic,
Chad, China, Congo, Croatia, Czech Republic, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece,
Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Hungary, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy,
Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon,
Lesotho, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, the
former Yugoslav Republic of, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Moldova,
Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria,
Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi
Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia,
South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Swaziland, Switzerland,
Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey,
Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, UAE, Scotland, Uzbekistan, Western
Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Regionally
extinct: Netherlands. Uncertain:
Côte d'Ivoire, Qatar.
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Wildcat
Distribution - Notes:
1. Wild Cats Of The World by Mel and Fiona Sunquist 2002 page 86, page
93, page 58 for wildcat distribution. Published by The University of Chicago Press Ltd. London.
ISBN 0-226-77999-8 (cloth).
From
Wildcat Distribution to Wild Cat Species |
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