A red-listed wild cat was spotted in Prykarpattia – video

In the Ternopil region, on the territory of the nature reserve “Medobory” recorded an animal of a rare species – it is considered almost extinct in Ukraine.

A wild cat that is the ancestor of the modern domestic cat, walked in the thickets of the forest and got into the lens of a camera trap, are reported employees of the reserve.

A forest cat is a predatory mammal, listed to the Red Book of Ukraineand with the status “vulnerable”. This predator is the only species of its kind in the fauna of Ukraine.

Outwardly, a wild fluffy cat is almost no different from a domestic cat – it has a massive body and short legs with large feet. The animal has a thick, relatively short tail with a blunt tip.

Coloring helps the animal to be invisible in the forest – its fur is monochromatic, usually gray-red with a marble pattern in the form of blurred elongated dark spots.

“In order to preserve the wild cat, it is necessary to prohibit the shooting of stray domestic cats in the habitat of the species, intensify the fight against poaching and strengthen control over compliance with the rules for keeping dogs, as well as create sanctuaries in the breeding places of the species“, – specified on the website of the Ukrainian Red Book.

They add that now the animal can be found in the Carpathian region and in some areas of Vinnytsia, Kirovohrad and Odesa regions.

In the world of forest catsth lives in all types of forests in Europe, the Caucasus and northern Turkey.

We used to reportedthat the reasons for the decrease in the population of the species are:

▲ predators hunting them;

▲ felling of forest, especially timber;

▲ significant human agricultural activity;

▲ population density.

We will remind, the Guinness Book of Records determined the oldest living cat in the world – 26-year-old Flossie from Orpington, in the south-east of London, became the record holder.