IT'S A SMALL WORLD
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Most members of the cat family are small and mysterious.
When you think of wild cats, you probably think of lions, tigers, or other large cats. However, most wild cat species are small. Many of these small cats live in the tropical forests of Asia, Africa, and the Americas, but a few are found in deserts and high mountains. Most are rare and little-known, and several may be on the verge of extinction.
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| For most of the past century, the Bornean Bay Cat, Profelis badia , was known only from nineteenth-century drawings, skulls, and pelts. In late 1992, a female was captured alive by hunters. Blood samples were used to determine the evolutionary relationships of the species and showed that its closest relative is the Asiatic Golden Cat, Profelis temmincki. |
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Produced by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. © Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Foundation This page was made possible by a grant from Friskies PetCare Company and the National Science Foundation. All photographic images contained within these Web pages ARE COPYRIGHTED and may not be reproduced or utilized in any manner without the express written consent of the owner. Original artwork from Daniel Giraud Elliot, A Monograph of the Felidae (1883) Page design by Jim Angus |