When is a Wild Cat really a Wild Cat?
Two thousand years of potential interbreeding with domestic cats, and persecution for its fur and as vermin, has taken a considerable toll on the Scottish wildcat, and doubt now surrounds whether true wildcats still exist at all in Britain. But recent research suggests that wildcats do prowl the Highlands and points a way forward for conserving Britain's only native feline. A 1990 prosecution for the illegal killing of three wildcats failed because the expert witness could not identify them beyond reasonable doubt as wildcats. This confusion over the distinctions between wildcats, feral domestic cats and their hybrids prompted Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) to make detailed measurements of wild-living cats either trapped alive or killed by game keepers and cars. The specimens fell into two groups. Group one had longer leg bones and shorter guts than group two and was associated with cold and dry regions of the eastern Highlands, making it a contender for the 'wildcat' label. But coat markings were highly variable in both groups, suggesting that visual identification is untrustworthy, and legal protection, therefore, problematic. "What is clear is that there is a group of wild-living cats in Scotland which have different characteristics to other cats," says SNH advisory officer for mammals, Mairi Cooper. "Whether these cats are true wildcats is something we are currently addressing."
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Source: BBC |
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Why do Cats Purr?
Over the course of evolution, purring has probably offered some selective advantage to cats. Most felid species produce a "purr-like" vocalization. In domestic cats, purring is most noticeable when an animal is nursing her kittens or when humans provide social contact via petting, stroking or feeding. Although we assume that a cat's purr is an expression of pleasure or is a means of communication with its young, perhaps the reasons for purring can be deciphered from the more stressful moments in a cat's life. Cats often purr while under duress, such as during a visit to the veterinarian or when recovering from injury. Thus, not all purring cats appear to be content or pleased with their current circumstances. This riddle has lead researchers to investigate how cats purr, which is also still under debate.
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By: Leslie A. Lyons
Source: Scientific American |
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Strange but True: Cats Cannot Taste Sweets
Sugar and spice and everything nice hold no interest for a cat. Our feline friends are only interested in one thing: meat (except for saving up the energy to catch it by napping, or a round of restorative petting) This is not just because inside every domestic tabby lurks a killer just waiting to catch a bird or torture a mouse, it is also because cats lack the ability to taste sweetness, unlike every other mammal examined to date. The tongues of most mammals hold taste receptors—proteins on the cellular surface that bind to an incoming substance, activating the cell's internal workings that lead to a signal being sent to the brain. Humans enjoy five kinds of taste buds (possibly six): sour, bitter, salty, umami (or meatiness) and sweet (as well as possibly fat). The sweet receptor is actually made up of two coupled proteins generated by two separate genes: known as Tas1r2 and Tas1r3.
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By: David Biello
Source: Scientific American |
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