| The beautiful Iriomote Cat resides only on the | | | | body length. Legs are short in comparison to body |
| Iriomote island of Japan, situated nearly two hundred | | | | size and tail is bushy. Toes are slightly webbed and |
| kilometers off the coast of Taiwan. It has lived for | | | | claws lack a complete sheath, helping the cat in its |
| millennia on this small island (less than three hundred | | | | aquatic pursuits of prey. Ears are short and rounded |
| square kilometers) and has evolved to suit the | | | | indicating that the Iriomote Cat primarily uses sight in |
| habitat and environment of this particular place. | | | | its movement and hunting. |
| Owing to similarities in appearance, for some time the | | | | A variety of prey is taken by the Iriomote Cat. Its |
| Iriomote Cat was considered a subspecie of the | | | | small body size enables it to move quickly through |
| Leopard Cat. Recent evidence however indicated | | | | the underbrush and successfully hunt small mammals, |
| that the Iriomote Cat separated from the Leopard | | | | birds, insects and fish. It is a solitary and territorial |
| Cat in evolution couple of million years ago. A small | | | | feline that frequently marks its territory (larger in |
| wild cat, the Iriomote Cat weighs around twelve | | | | case of males) and is primarily nocturnal, particularly in |
| pounds and is around one a half to two feet long | | | | summer. Mating season is twice an year and |
| (excluding tail). Males are slightly larger. | | | | pregnancy lasts two months after which a litter of |
| Fur is brownish with a number of dark brown spots | | | | one to four kittens is born. |
| that coalesce to form stripes which run along the | | | | |