The Cat Survival Trust

The Iriomote Cat

Felis (Mayailurus) iriomotensis

Contents
	Description Distribution Diet Behaviour Reproduction Conservation Status Captive Breeding and Iriomote Cats in Captivity Further Reading

Other names
	French:	chat d'Iriomote
	German:	Iriomote-Katze
	Spanish:	gato d'Iriomote

Description

Formally acknowledged only in the mid 1960’s, the Iriomote cat has been thought to be a subspecies of the leopard cat Prionailurus bengalensis rather than a species in its own right: Felis iriomotensis (Wozencraft 1993). Initially it had been placed in its own genus, Mayailurus iriomotensis.
The Iriomote cat is dusky or greyish brown, dark spots in dense longitudinal rows mark its body. The spots tend to coalesce into bands. Five or seven dark stripes run along its neck, and two white lines run from the corners of each eye across the cheeks. Thick and bushy, the tail is relatively short; spotted near the base it is ringed toward the tip. The backs of the rounded ears are dark with white central spots. The anterior upper premolar is absent.
Approximately the same size as a domestic cat the Iriomote cat has the characteristic elongate body, short legs and low-slung build of a predator which forages in thick undergrowth.

Principal dimensions

	Overall	Males	Females
Head and Body lengths (cm)	38-65
Height at shoulders (cm)	25
Tail lengths (cm)	16-45
Weight (Kg)	3-7

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Distribution and Habitats

The 292 square km island of Iriomotejima is at the southern end of the Japanese Ryukyu Islands, which are 200 km east of Taiwan (24° 15´-25´ north Latitude and 123° 40´-55´ east Longitude).
The island is mountainous and covered in broadleaf, evergreen, subtropical rainforest with dense mangroves along the estuaries. The highest mountain is only 470 metres.
This endemic cat is found, near water, all over the island, including beaches and cultivated land. It only avoids the most heavily populated areas. Unfortunately it shows a preference for the coastal forest areas which are mostly outside the protected area of the island and through which the island’s road has been constructed.

The map shows the present distribution of Iriomote Cats in grey.
The map is based on information in the Wild Cats Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan published by the IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group in 1996. See our Books page for more details.

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Diet

In one study 50% of the prey biomass was identified as mammalian in origin, with about 25% of the mass bird and 20% reptilian. In summer, the cat’s emphasis on mammalian prey seems to change, with more birds and reptiles taken.
Numerically, insects are important, making up one third of the total numbers of items found in scats. 39 species of beetle have been identified in them.
Iriomote cats are known to take fruit bats, black rats, wild pig, night herons, quails, rails, pigeons, doves, scops owls, kingfishers, robins, thrushes, crows, box turtles, skinks and amphibians. More than 95 species of animal have been identified from their faeces.

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Behaviour

Iriomote cats are solitary but home ranges of individuals overlap. Male home ranges vary from 2.1 to 4.7 km², and those of females 0.95 to 1.55 km².
Hunting day and night both in trees and on the ground the Iriomote cat is an opportunistic generalist predator. It is said to be more nocturnal in summer than winter. During the day they will hide in rock crevices or tree cavities, leaving to hunt at dusk. In captivity, they are enthusiastic swimmers, playing in the water. Known to cross rivers in the wild, they probably also catch fish and crabs in the water. Hunting is usually a slow stalk finishing with a quick rush to kill.

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Reproduction

Captive animals lose weight in winter and spend more time urine marking. This is seen as preparation for mating. They are more frequently seen in pairs in winter and often heard to vocalize. Males often fight. They miaow and howl like domestic cats. Mating is believed to occur from February to March and September/October.
After a gestation of about 60 days, two to four kittens are born in a den in a rock crevice or hollow tree. The kittens mature much more rapidly than domestic cats, being left on their own when they are about three months old.

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Conservation Status

Barely 100 individuals survive due to habitat destruction and persecution/over-hunting. Although, in 1977 the Iriomote cat was declared a National Japanese Treasure, pressures of development pose a very serious threat. One third of the island has been declared a reserve where the trapping of the cat for any reason is strictly prohibited. However, the species continues to decline. Izawa (1990) reported that the density of the cats was relatively low inside the National Park because they prefer forest edges, coastal areas and lowlands, most of which are outside the protected areas.
There is no captive breeding population.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) have listed the Iriomote cat as Endangered, on the verge of extinction. As the cat is not substantially traded, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) have only declared that international commerce must be strictly regulated, they have placed it on Appendix II.
Feral domestic cats compete with the Iriomote cat for food, but at the moment there appears to be no problem with the two species interbreeding. Hybridization would dilute the gene pool of the Iriomote cat and could be a disastrous long-term threat to the integrity of the species. Proposals have been made to eradicate all feral cats on the island.
The Japanese Environmental Agency set up feeding programmes for the native cat. Since 1979 domestic chickens were provided at 20 feeding sites. However, this has caused problems as the cats now regard farmer’s flocks as a natural food resource. In 1983 the Iriomote cats began to attack domestic chickens at village houses. This conflict is obviously very undesirable.
The meat of the cat is considered to be a delicacy on the island and a significant number have also been killed on the roads.
Despite these problems many of the inhabitants of Iriomotejima are proud of “their” cat.

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