Caturday Special: The Pampas Cat (Leopardus colocola)

A look at the little known, beautiful and elusive South American small cat, the Pampas Cat (Leopardus colocola). Particularly a discussion on taxonomy and evidence for evolution and speciation in action.

Caturday Special: The Sand Cat, Felis margarita

The sandcat, one of the cutest and most amazing cats on the planet. This small, adorable bundle of fluff has been known to eat desert monitor lizards its own size and venomous snakes – although mostly it eats small rodents, lizards, birds and insects. They rarely drink, using their efficient kidneys to obtain moisture from their prey. They’re just unbelievable, something this cute should not be so tough but they are hard as nails and can teach us a lot about how we should adapt to our environment rather than unsustainably developing techniques and technologies that force our environment to adapt to us.

Be more sandcat.

On the Origin of a Species: The Red Panda, Ailurus fulgens

A look at this taxonomically, physiologically, anatomically confusing but absolutely, undoubtedly cute little species, the red panda, Ailurus fulgens. Once thought related to raccoons, or the giant panda, it now stands in a family of its own proving, even to cynics like me, that taxonomy is not just useless bickering about arbitrary classifications.

Caturday Special: The Leopard, Panthera pardus

With this study of the leopard we have written about every extant pantherine. There are no more big cat species of that genus left to cover. The leopard is a beautiful, generalist, opportunist species adapted for a wide variety of habitats, explaining it’s wide distribution. It is a cat also associated with the Greek God Dionysus, the God of wine.

Caturday Special: The Rusty-Spotted Cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus)

A look at potentially the world’s smallest cat, the rusty-spotted cat of India and Sri Lanka. A tiny small rodent and bird hunter that is shy, elusive and very, very cute.

On the Origin of a Species: Tapirs (Tapiridae)

Exploring the tapir family, how they evolved, their natural history and the four extant (currently living) and undisputed species of tapir – the Malayan tapir (Acrocodia indica or Tapirus indica), the lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris), Baird’s tapir (Tapirus bairdii) and the mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque). I also explore man’s relationship with animals and why tapirs are endangered.

Caturday Special: The Marbled Cat (Pardofelis marmorata)

A look at one of the world’s most elusive but beautiful cats, Asia’s marbled cat. A small cat that lives and hunts in the trees (arboreal) and has exceptionally long canine teeth for reasons we will discuss.

Caturday Special: Fishing Cat (Prionailurus viverrinus)

The fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) is probably the first cat since the Pallas cat that we have covered that looks like a teddy bear. These things are so damn adorable looking. They do not have a typical feline headshape, instead they have these little tucked-back ears on a little round head that makes it look

Red vs. Grey: Squirrels at War?

We explore the battle in the UK between the previously widely distributed, native red squirrel (sciurus vulgaris) and the imported invader the grey squirrel (sciurus carolinensis) looking at why the grey could be harmful to the UKs ecosystems and habitats, how they managed to reduce populations of red squirrels and what we could possibly do to remedy the situation. We include discussion on the pine marten (martes martes) a natural squirrel predator, as well as effective woodland management and ensuring all development is led by a core premise to not only not harm, but to improve, UK habitats and ecosystems to promote native wildlife biodiversity.

Caturday Special: The Cougar (Puma concolor)

We look at the cougar, or puma, or mountain lion – it’s a cat of many names mainly caused by its wide distribution. It is a big cat, but it is more closely related to small cats, it is absolutely beautiful, it loves the mountains and it rarely attacks people. We also discuss the hybridisation with texan cougar of the Florida Panther, in order to save that sub-population from inbreeding problems.