Trivia question for Nov-04-2011

Carter picked this cat because he is guessing that no one will get his trivia correctly.  Lets see how you do.  These are small but fierce predators which are extremely shy and rarely seen by humans.

These cats were common in the European Pleistocene era; when the ice vanished, they became adapted to a life in dense forests. In most European countries they have become very rare. Although legally protected, they are still shot by hunters mistaking them for domestic cats. In the Scottish Highlands, where approximately 400 are thought to be remaining in the wild, interbreeding with feral cats is a significant threat to the wild population. Although Spain and Portugal are the West European countries with the greatest population of thes cats, the animals in these region are threatened by breeding with feral cats and loss of habitat.

So here are Carter’s questions:  Tell us what kind of cat this is and how many babies they typically have?  Also, these guys have few natural enemies.  Tell us two predators that sometimes take their kittens?

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Congratulations goes out to Jen Dowdy from Paducah, Kentucky for being the first to answer our trivia and to Cheryl Young Suitor from West Sacramento, California for also providing correct answers to the trivia. The feline we featured is the European Wildcat. The European Wildcat is a subspecies of the wildcat that inhabits forests of Western, Central, Eastern and Southern Europe, as well as Scotland, Turkey and the Caucasus Mountains; it has been extirpated from Scandinavia, England, and Wales.

These small but ferocious cats typically have anywhere from 1 to 8 (buy usually 4) young.  European Wildcats have few natural enemies, but golden eagles and foxes sometimes take kittens of this species.  Here is more on these crafty cats: European Wildcat

Thanks for playing along 😉