Banner image: An ocelot stalking prey in Colombia. Image by Rhett A. Butler\/Mongabay.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nOther Speciation Under Consideration<\/h3>\n
Jon Ayers: <\/b>What about speciation across Asia and other genera?<\/p>\n
Tadeu: <\/b>Several groups.\u00a0 The Wildcat lineage Felis<\/i> has been settled. At her presentation, Dr. Shu-Jin Luo showed the different groups and where they are.<\/p>\n
Jon Ayers: <\/b>And the marbled cat?<\/p>\n
Tadeu: <\/b>The Marbled cat\u2014Pardofelis marmorata<\/i>\u2014is currently the only species found on both the Asian mainland and the Sunda Islands.\u00a0 I would expect it to be split into two species: mainland and Sunda Islands.\u00a0 This follows the precedent set by the Clouded leopard\u2014Neofelis nebulosa<\/i>\u2014and the Leopard cat\u2014Prionailurus bengalensis<\/i>\u2014which have already been split across this divide.\u00a0 If Clouded leopards, if Leopard cats are split into two species, why would the Marbled cat be only one species?\u00a0 It makes no sense.\u00a0 The separation is driven by the Wallace Line\u2014everything on the Sunda Islands is at least a million years apart from mainland counterparts.<\/p>\n
Jon Ayers: <\/b>Ocelots?<\/p>\n
Tadeu: <\/b>Ocelots\u2014Leopardus pardalis<\/i>\u2014will likely be separated into distinct species as well, given their huge range across Central and South America. But there is still a long way to go before that happens. It should take a while before this could become a fact.<\/p>\n
Jon Ayers: <\/b>And the Andean cat?<\/p>\n
Tadeu: <\/b>In contrast, the Andean cat\u2014Leopardus jacobita<\/i>\u2014has the lowest genetic variation within the genus Leopardus<\/i>.\u00a0 That\u2019s attributed to naturally slow gene flow due to its patchy habitat\u2014not a human-induced problem.\u00a0 That\u2019s natural for the species.\u00a0 That\u2019s always been like that.\u00a0 While this slow gene flow could eventually lead to speciation, no significant differentiation has been identified yet.<\/p>\n
Jon Ayers: <\/b>Jaguarundi and Geoffroy\u2019s cat\u2014they have enormous ranges.<\/p>\n
Tadeu: <\/b>Despite their enormous ranges\u2014Jaguarundi, Herpailurus yagouaroundi<\/i>, range from northern Mexico to central Argentina\u2014both Jaguarundi and Geoffroy\u2019s cat are each considered one single, wide-ranging genetic population with no significant differentiation.<\/p>\n
Jon Ayers: <\/b>Why does the Puma stay one species? Its range is incredible.<\/p>\n
Tadeu: <\/b>Puma is versatile and wide-ranging\u00a0 Unlike habitat-specialist small cats, Puma\u2014Puma concolor<\/i>\u2014adapt across diverse environments, maintaining gene flow across their range.<\/p>\nThe Sri Lankan Fishing Cat<\/h3>\n
Jon Ayers: <\/b>Anything new on the fishing cats?<\/p>\n
Tadeu: <\/b>Yes\u2014a study from Dr. Shu-Jin Luo\u2019s lab at Peking University revealed significant differences between the Sri Lankan fishing cat\u2014Prionailurus viverrinus<\/i>\u2014population and its mainland counterpart.\u00a0 Genetic separation of approximately 500,000 years.\u00a0 Morphological differences\u2014Sri Lankan fishing cats are larger.\u00a0 Biogeographical differences confirmed.\u00a0 And a behavioral difference\u2014Sri Lankan fishing cats are known to kill and eat dogs.\u00a0 Mainland Fishing cat is associated with lowland wetlands.\u00a0 This is not so in Sri Lanka where Fishing cats survive where there are no lakes or streams.<\/p>\n
Jon Ayers: <\/b>But Sri Lanka hasn\u2019t been an island for 500,000 years.\u00a0 So geographic isolation alone doesn\u2019t explain it?<\/p>\n
Tadeu: <\/b>Correct.\u00a0 I\u2019d suggest that past habitat changes likely created a barrier that broke gene flow\u2014maybe some habitat change that happened in the past that made them too far apart, that they could not exchange.\u00a0 Once gene flow was broken, the populations began developing differently.<\/p>\n
Jon Ayers: <\/b>I\u2019ve heard reports of Fishing cats that don\u2019t fish living in mountains.<\/p>\n
Tadeu: <\/b>That is true for the Sri Lankan population\u2014there are fishing cats in the mountains in Sri Lanka that don\u2019t fish.\u00a0 And they also eat dogs.<\/p>\nThe Global Wild Cat Monitoring Program<\/h3>\n
Jon Ayers: <\/b>What else came out of the meetings this week?<\/p>\n
Tadeu: <\/b>A major announcement.\u00a0 A decision was reached yesterday\u2014Sunday, August 9\u2014to establish a Global Wild Cat Monitoring Program as a formal program within the Cat Specialist Group.<\/p>\n
Jon Ayers: <\/b>That\u2019s a historic first.<\/p>\n
Tadeu: <\/b>It is.\u00a0 The mission is to monitor all small wild cat species across the globe.\u00a0 The primary goal is to establish and maintain surveillance at key population sites for every cat species to determine if their populations are stable, fluctuating, increasing, or declining.\u00a0 This monitoring data is critical because it provides the concrete evidence required by IUCN for Red List assessments.\u00a0 For IUCN, you need to prove everything.\u00a0 If the population is declining\u2014to say that it\u2019s vulnerable, you need to show that it\u2019s dropping.\u00a0 That there are real, measurable population drops.\u00a0 If you\u2019re not monitoring, you will not know that.\u00a0 So it\u2019s like, it makes it tougher.<\/p>\n
Jon Ayers: <\/b>And you\u2019re leading the implementation?<\/p>\n
Tadeu: <\/b>I am personally leading the implementation.\u00a0 I\u2019m already in talks to set up monitoring sites for newly identified species in northern Brazil, near the Guyanas.\u00a0 I told the group: We are making history now.<\/p>\n
Jon Ayers: <\/b>A global monitoring system for small cats has never been done before.<\/p>\n
Tadeu: <\/b>No, it hasn\u2019t.\u00a0 The time has arrived.<\/p>\nIUCN Red List Assessment<\/h3>\n
Jon Ayers: <\/b>What\u2019s the Red List assessment workload looking like with all these new species?<\/p>\n
Tadeu: <\/b>I\u2019ll be responsible for conducting the Red List assessment for all six new Tiger-cat species.\u00a0 It\u2019s gonna be tough.\u00a0 The Jaguarundi is complete and published\u2014it was upgraded from \u201cLeast Concern\u201d to \u201cNear Threatened.\u201d\u00a0 The Margay is in progress.\u00a0 The Ocelot is in progress.\u00a0 L. braccatus<\/i> (the Cerrado black-footed cat) is next.\u00a0 And then the Tiger-cats\u2014all new species.<\/p>\n
Jon Ayers: <\/b>Walk me through the Jaguarundi upgrade.<\/p>\n
Tadeu: <\/b>The Jaguarundi\u2019s status was elevated from \u201cLeast Concern\u201d to \u201cNear Threatened\u201d based on monitoring data from 75 different areas across its range.\u00a0 The data revealed Jaguarundi is actually rare in most locations\u2014consistently falling below the established rarity threshold for trail camera in the Neotropics.\u00a0 In very few areas was it more abundant.\u00a0 I told Panthera: You see that stuff that we did?\u00a0 It would cover the gap from the Panthera paper on Jaguarundi range.\u00a0 The monitoring part we evaluated showed that Jaguarundi was actually rare in most sites around its range and not abundant.\u00a0 That finding from 75 monitored areas was significant enough (with population declines) to warrant the status change.<\/p>\n
Jon Ayers: <\/b>I really enjoyed reading the last IUCN Cat News Special Issue #11 regarding taxonomy.\u00a0 Is there a new version coming?<\/p>\n
Tadeu: <\/b>That\u2019s what we\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n
Jon Ayers: <\/b>What\u2019s the timeline?<\/p>\n
Tadeu: <\/b>I believe the work was originally supposed to begin in late 2023 or 2024 (not sure), but it ended up starting only in 2025.\u00a0 It is a complex undertaking, and so, I estimate it will likely be finished in 2026 and published in 2027.<\/p>\nHow People Can Help\u2014Support and Funding<\/h3>\n
Jon Ayers: <\/b>How can people like me and the Baskins be helpful in these goals of conservation and monitoring and scientific work such as taxonomy?<\/p>\n
Tadeu: <\/b>I know you make a small contribution to the Cat Specialist Group through Panthera.\u00a0 And Big Cat Rescue supports the Tiger-Cats Conservation Initiative and that support enabled us to collect samples and to do the work.\u00a0 The area where support is most needed right now is the Global Wild Cat Monitoring Program.<\/p>\n
Jon Ayers: <\/b>Agreed.\u00a0 A global monitoring system for small cats has never been done before.<\/p>\n
Tadeu: <\/b>And it\u2019s essential.\u00a0 Without systematic monitoring, it\u2019s impossible to provide the population data that IUCN requires for Red List assessments\u2014that creates a bottleneck for conservation action.<\/p>\n
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