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Asian Leopard Cat Asian Leopard Cat Photo copyright F. Spangenberg In general the Asian Leopard Cat (ALC) (Felis bengalensis) is not that dissimilar to the domestic Bengal which is to be expected of course. However, the ALC is somewhat longer in body and leg length (but, importantly, see below). This makes it an excellent and natural climber and very athletic. Length is 25" to 32" and weight 7 to 15 lbs. The head is quite small in comparison to the rest of the body, with large eyes and a longish muzzle it seems to me. The latin name (Felis bengalensis) tells us where the name of this man made hybrid comes from, the bengal of bengalensis. There are many subspecies and the Asian Leopard cat is (perhaps the better term should be "was") quite common in Asia, India, China, Korea, Soviet Far East, Sumatra, Philippines, Taiwan, Borneo, Bali and Java. Trade in the ALC is regulated as an endangered species under CITES (this may have changed since writing this). Character and behavior: solitary and reclusive, climbers, swimmers, fishers. They live under tree roots, in caves and hollow trees. An extract from the 1911 Encyclopedia Brittanica (not subject to copyright, hence the quote) "The ranges of the Himalaya, from the border of Tibet to the plains, form a zoological region which is one of the richest of the world, particularly in respect to birds, to which the forest-clad mountains offer almost every range of temperature.....Bears are common, and so are a marten, several weasels and otters, and cats of various kinds and sizes, from the little spotted Felis bengalensis, smaller than a domestic cat.... Clearly stating that the ALC is smaller than the domestic cat. "Dr Nehring came to the conclusion that the domesticated cat has a dual parentage, one from a domesticated Chinese cat (itself derived from a wild Chinese species) on the one hand, and from the Egyptian cat on the other. Two distinct types of so-called tabby cats are recognizable. In the one the pattern consists of narrow vertical stripes, and in the other of longitudinal or obliquely longitudinal stripes, which, on the sides of the body, tend to assume a spiral or sub-circular arrangement characteristic of the blotched tabby. This latter type appears to be the true "tabby"; since that word denotes a pattern like that of watered silk.......it may be suggested that the blotched tabby type represents Dr Nehring's presumed Chinese element in the cat's parentage, and that the missing wild stock may be one of the numerous phases of the leopard-cat (F. bengalensis), in some of which an incipient spiral arrangement of the markings may be noticed on the shoulder." This would suggest interestingly, that the domestic tabby cat has some Asian Leopard Cat in him already. It tells us that in truth there is nothing that is actually totally pure in genetic make up as that is in fact impossible. There are 10 sub species and a range of coat colors and configuration. Note that the coat has two areas the background color and appearance and the overlying pattern. The coat is its most noticeable feature and is discussed on another page (to be linked later). Source: http://www.bengalcat.co.uk/1911 Encyclopedia Brittanica
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