Leopard Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis)
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Status: Least Concern
Description: Also known as the Far Eastern leopard, the Manchurian leopard, or the Korean leopard.
Habitat Range: They are found throughout most of India west into Pakistan and Afghanistan, through the Himalayan foothills, across most of China, and north to the Korean peninsula and into the Russian Far East. Leopard cats are also found throughout Southeast Asia, and on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Borneo and Taiwan. The leopard cat is the only wild felid found in the Japan and in the Philippines.
Numbers Left in the Wild:
Primary Threats: In China, the centre of its range, commercial exploitation has been heavy: hundreds of thousands of Leopard Cat skins per year were exported in the 1980s. Although commercial trade is much reduced, the species continues to be hunted throughout most of its range for fur, for food, and as pets. They are also widely viewed as poultry pests and killed in retribution. Island populations are small and seriously threatened in the Philippines and Japan. Although the species is less dependent on forest cover than others, habitat loss and fragmentation is still a major threat across most of its Asian range.
What we are doing to help:
- Our Cat Sanctuaries at the
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Our Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team is fighting the illegal trade of this cat.
Wildlife Alliance
1150 17th St. NW Suite 403
Washington D.C. 20036
Tel: (202) 223 - 6350 Fax: (202) 223 - 6352
