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Wildcats are some of the most beautiful and interesting animals on the planet. There are 40 species of wildcat separated into 8 distinct lineages providing one of the most interesting stories of evolution in the animal kingdom. The oldest split between all remaining extant species of cat occurred more than 10 million years ago when Pantherine containing the big five split from Felinae containing the rest of the felids. The Felinae family then continued to diverge until around 1-3 million years ago producing amount others, the Caracal, Ocelot, Lynx, Puma and Domestic Cat lineages. In this guide, we'll explore each split in the Felidae family and the lineages and species of wild cats these evolutionary divergences produced.
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00:00The Felidae family contains 40 species of wildcat, separated into 8 distinct lineages
00:11and provides one of the most fascinating stories of evolution in the animal kingdom.
00:16The oldest split between all remaining extant species of cat occurred more than 10 million
00:21years ago when Pantherinae, containing the big five, split from Felinae, containing the
00:26rest of the felids.
00:28The Felinae subfamily then continued to diverge until around 1-3 million years ago, producing
00:34among others the Caracal, Ocelot, Lynx, Puma and domestic cat lineages.
00:42In this guide, we'll explore each split in the Felidae family and the lineages and
00:47species these evolutionary divergences produced.
00:50Let's dive in.
00:52Panthera is the oldest and most distant lineage from our beloved domesticated cats.
00:57It contains the largest and frankly the most terrifying felines.
01:02This lineage contains two genera, the eponymous Panthera genus and Neophilus.
01:07Panthera is by far the most famous of all feline genera, containing the big five cats,
01:13which includes tigers, lions, jaguars, leopards and snow leopards.
01:19Neophilus contains two species of clouded leopard, who are significantly smaller than
01:24their Pantherinian cousins.
01:27The tiger is the largest cat on the planet, measuring up to 13 feet in length including
01:31its tail and weighing up to 660 pounds.
01:35This species is split into 6 subspecies including the Bengal, Malayan and Siberian tiger, with
01:42an additional 3 subspecies driven to extinction including the Javan and Caspian tiger.
01:48They have a large territorial range, inhabiting many different types of forest and grassland
01:53and like most wildcats live a solitary existence.
01:57Tigers are found mostly in South and Southeast Asia, with a small population of Siberian
02:02tigers found in the mountain ranges of Far Eastern Russia and Northern China.
02:07Both black and white tigers have been known to occur from pseudomelanism and albinism
02:11respectively.
02:13Unfortunately, tigers are currently endangered due to poaching and habitat loss, but a healthy
02:18population does reside in India where they are protected.
02:22The famously elusive snow leopard is the smallest species of the Panthera genus.
02:27They are found on the highest plateau in the world, the Tibetan plateau, and regions further
02:31north in Mongolia and Siberia.
02:34It makes sense to assume that snow leopards diverge from regular leopards to create a
02:38super snow specializing species, but recent studies have shown that they diverge from
02:43tigers and that lions are more closely related to leopards.
02:48Snow leopards vary the altitude at which they live depending on the season, retreating
02:52to higher elevations in the summer where the temperature remains cool.
02:56Their thick, rusty white, black spotted fur helps keep them warm in their snowy habitat
03:01and provides much needed camouflage while hunting.
03:05Active mostly during the morning and evening, they prey upon mountain sheep, deer, goats
03:10and smaller mammals such as marmots.
03:12There are currently no known subspecies of snow leopard, presumably because of its limited
03:17range.
03:19Lions are the second largest wild cat, weighing up to 550 pounds.
03:24They once roamed the forests of southern Europe and the Middle East, but are now restricted
03:27to the grasslands of sub-Saharan Africa and a very small population in India.
03:33Unlike most other cats who enjoy their own company, lions are pack animals and congregate
03:37in prides, which is advantageous for taking down larger prey.
03:42Lions have a unique appearance being the only cat to sport a mane, which has been shown
03:46to be a factor for females when choosing a mate, with darker and thicker manes being
03:51the most popular hairstyle.
03:53The white lion is a rare colour variation caused by a genetic condition called leucism,
03:58which results in a loss of pigmentation.
04:01When not hunting wildebeest, zebra and buffalo amongst other animals, they can be found relaxing
04:07with their pride, which they do for up to 20 hours per day.
04:11Leopards occupy a similar territory to lions in Africa, but are also found throughout much
04:16of Asia as well.
04:18Male leopards can weigh up to 200 pounds and although they are significantly smaller than
04:22both lions and tigers, they are famously agile and can hunt while leaping from tree to tree.
04:28The pattern of their fur is made up of black rosettes, which generally have no inner decoration.
04:34One of the most famous colour variations is the black panther, which is not a separate
04:38species.
04:39Excessive production of melanin causes the black pigmentation of fur and although there
04:44are black panthers in Africa, the most common occurrence of this variant is found in South
04:49and Southeast Asia.
04:50There are 27 subspecies of leopard, making it one of the most geographically and visually
04:55varied felines.
04:57The Amur leopard, for example, lives in Far Eastern Asia.
05:01It has a darker coat and longer hair, giving it a similar appearance to a snow leopard.
05:07Jaguars are commonly mistaken for leopards due to their visually similar fur pattern,
05:11however, there are several distinct differences between the two species.
05:15Unlike leopards who live in Africa or in Asia, jaguars are found throughout Central and South
05:20America.
05:21These aquatically inclined felines can be up to twice the size, with males weighing
05:26up to 350 pounds.
05:28Their fur pattern also differs slightly, with spots inside each black rosette.
05:33Like leopards, they can also be subject to melanism, producing entirely black jaguars,
05:39also referred to as black panthers, leading to the further confusion between the species.
05:44They have adapted to living in the wet rainforests and wetlands of South America, including and
05:49especially the Amazon rainforest.
05:52Jaguars are excellent swimmers, consuming more reptiles than any other cat.
05:56They use their powerful bite and large canines to prey upon turtles in Cayman.
06:01Like snow leopards, they are a monotypic species, meaning that there are no currently defined
06:06subspecies.
06:08The clouded leopard is the first of two species contained in the Neophelis genus.
06:13They are found throughout much of East and Southeast Asia, and are significantly smaller
06:17than the big five cats, with males weighing up to 50 pounds.
06:21They are found in the woodlands and forests of South and Southeast Asia, and are active
06:25mostly during the night due to overlapping ranges with tigers and leopards.
06:31Clouded leopards are solitary animals who are arboreal, living mostly in trees.
06:35They feed mainly on smaller mammals such as monkeys and squirrels, as well as birds,
06:40and have also been known to take down larger mammals such as deer.
06:44Their conservation status is currently listed as vulnerable, with less than 10,000 individuals
06:49remaining in the wild.
06:51The Sunda clouded leopard diverged from the clouded leopard around 1-2 million years ago,
06:56and is found exclusively on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra.
07:00They are visually very similar to the clouded leopard, but are slightly larger and exhibit
07:04a darker fur.
07:06The Puma lineage is one of the most interesting for its variation of physical characteristics.
07:11It contains three species, the cougar, cheetah, and jaguar undi, which are three very different
07:18cats.
07:20The cougar is one of the most famous of the cat species.
07:23It is well known in North American pop culture for being the largest cat species in the USA
07:28and Canada, and second only to the jaguar in the Americas.
07:32Cougars have a gigantic range from Canada all the way down to southern Argentina and
07:37Brazil.
07:38They are found in many different biomes including various types of forest and desert, as well
07:42as high altitude mountainous terrain.
07:45Physically, the cougar is a stocky and powerful animal, capable of taking down large mammals
07:50such as caribou and elk.
07:52They will also feed on smaller mammals such as rabbits, as well as birds.
07:57Cougars take an awkward position in the food chain, possessing the power to kill coyotes
08:02and wolves.
08:03Their cubs are often preyed upon by these animals for self-preservation.
08:07They are nocturnal and solitary by nature, although it is not uncommon to see them in
08:11small groups.
08:13The jaguar undi occupies a similar range to that of the cougar up to the Mexican-US border
08:18where it extends no further.
08:20They inhabit different types of forest, shrubland, and desert, and are diurnal, hunting during
08:26the day and at night.
08:28Their appearance is somewhat similar to a large weasel and their fur can be a deep reddish
08:32brown or a dark grey.
08:34Weighing a maximum 15 pounds, jaguar undis are much smaller than cougars with short legs
08:40and a long body and tail.
08:42Although they have been known to climb, they hunt mainly on the ground and are also known
08:46to be good swimmers.
08:48Thankfully, this lovable feline's conservation status is listed as least concern.
08:54The cheetah is the fastest animal in the world, with recorded speeds of up to 114 km per hour.
09:00They are split into four subspecies, three of which are found in Africa, with the remaining
09:05Asian population being located in Iran.
09:09Although these cats have long limbs to help propel them in their predatory chase, their
09:13maximum average weight is around 120 pounds, making them around half the weight of a leopard.
09:19A cheetah's diet is primarily made up of medium-sized ungulates, such as gazelles
09:24and impalas, who have also evolved to run at high speeds.
09:28Because of their size, prey is often poached from cheetahs by larger animals of the savannah,
09:33such as lions and hyenas.
09:35Although they can be solitary, they are mostly found in groups known as coalitions and are
09:39active during the day and the night to avoid conflicts with larger cats, such as lions and leopards.
09:47The lynx lineage is one of my favourites.
09:49These beautiful creatures have short tails and shaggy fur and are well adapted to their
09:53typically snowy, mountainous environment.
09:56It is made up of a single genus, the lynx genus, which is made up of four species.
10:01Although they are visually very similar, their territories are distinct with the exception
10:05of a small overlap between that of the Canada lynx and the bobcat.
10:10It is not uncommon to see groups of lynx hunting together, although these animals are mostly
10:15thought of as reclusive.
10:17Similar to the caracal, all species of lynx have tufts of hair on the ends of their ears.
10:23The Eurasian lynx is the largest of the four species and by some considerable margin.
10:29Males can weigh up to around 80 pounds compared to the other species in this lineage, which
10:33weigh around 35 pounds.
10:36They come in two colour variations, exhibiting either a reddish-brown or grey coat.
10:41The distribution of the Eurasian lynx is vast, roaming mountainous regions as far west as
10:46Norway and Germany, as far east as Siberia and as far south as the Tibetan plateau.
10:53They are active during early morning or late evening and live mainly in temperate and boreal
10:57forests where they feast on small mammals such as hares, rabbits, young deer, foxes
11:03and boars.
11:04They are generally not preyed upon by other animals, although they have been known to
11:08run into wolves, wolverines and, god forbid, the odd Siberian tiger.
11:15The Iberian lynx is one of the most threatened members of the cat family.
11:19This species is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula, which contains the countries of Spain and
11:23Portugal and up to 2002 was on the verge of extinction.
11:28However, thanks to valiant conservation efforts, their population rose from 94 in 2002 to 326
11:37in 2012 and their future is now looking much brighter with a population of over a thousand
11:42in 2021.
11:44They are found only in small isolated regions of southern Spain, where they feed almost
11:49entirely on the European rabbit.
11:52The Canada lynx occupies the boreal forests of Canada, Alaska and some of the northern
11:57states of the contiguous US.
12:00In terms of its evolutionary path, it is one divergence removed from the Eurasian and Iberian
12:05lynx, which makes sense based on their difference in domain.
12:09They are typically very similar in colour to their European counterparts, but have also
12:13been known to exhibit a bluish-grey hue.
12:16Canada lynx feed almost exclusively on snowshoe hares and have developed long hind legs and
12:21huge paws which help them hunt in the snow.
12:24Consequently, areas with large populations of snowshoe hares see larger populations of
12:30the Canada lynx and their activity level also matches that of their prey, being active mostly
12:35at night.
12:37Bobcats occupy the southernmost range of all lynx species, with their habitat stretching
12:42as far south as Mexico.
12:44They are the smallest species of the lynx genus, with males weighing no more than around
12:4833 pounds.
12:50Their coat also varies from a reddish-brown to a grey, with darker spots and streaks distributed
12:56throughout the coat for camouflage.
12:58They are found mostly in woodlands, forests and mountainous terrain and, much like the
13:03rest of its genus, the bobcat survives largely on rabbits and hares, but is also known to
13:09hunt larger prey, such as small deer.
13:12Bobcats venture as far south as Mexico and as far north as Canada, often overlapping
13:17territory with the Canada lynx.
13:20The cats of the caracal lineage are found mainly in Africa, but roam as far east as
13:24southern Asia as well.
13:26This lineage contains two genera.
13:29The caracal genus is split between the caracal and the African golden cat, whereas Leptalarus
13:34contains a single species, the serval.
13:37The caracal is the only species from this lineage to be found in Asia, with a range
13:42extending as far east as India and as far north as Turkmenistan.
13:47Although much smaller, the caracal is similar in appearance to a cougar, with a reddish-brown
13:52coat and no markings.
13:54Like the lynx family, they also exhibit tufts of hair on the tops of their ears, which they
13:59have been observed using to communicate by bobbing their heads from side to side.
14:04Caracals are famously agile and have been known to perform impressive gymnastic-like
14:08stunts while catching birds in mid-flight.
14:11They are found in forests, grasslands and desert ecosystems and are also known as the
14:17desert lynx or the Persian lynx, being found throughout much of the Middle East.
14:22The African golden cat is exceptionally rare and occupies a small range in the rainforests
14:27of Central and West Africa.
14:30They are mostly golden in colour, although some have been observed with a grey coat and
14:34spotted markings are present on some of these cats on the underside of their belly and the
14:38backs of their legs.
14:41Servals have the longest legs of all cats relative to body size and weigh no more than
14:4540 pounds.
14:47They have a unique appearance not too dissimilar from that of a cheetah.
14:51They exhibit a light yellowish fur with clearly defined black spots and stripes, in addition
14:56to a short tail and large ears.
14:59Although a small population exists in Morocco, these cats live mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa.
15:05They are found in wetlands and forests as well as roaming the savannah.
15:10Servals prey mostly on rodents, birds and reptiles in addition to eating grass to aid
15:14with digestion.
15:16They hunt in the early morning and late afternoon and occasionally at night.
15:21Collectively, the bay cat lineage has a very similar range to that of the clouded leopard,
15:26occupying the forests of East and Southeast Asia and contains three distinct species.
15:32The Asian golden cat is a particularly beautiful medium-sized feline found throughout South,
15:38East and Southeast Asia.
15:41They have a marbled face and have been observed with a variety of fur colours, with some exhibiting
15:46a light reddish hue and others with a darker brown coat.
15:50Asian golden cats are adept at climbing trees in the forests which they call home.
15:55They mostly hunt small mammals and birds and have been shown to be a mixture of diurnal
15:59and crespular, active during twilight.
16:03The marbled cat is the smallest member of the bay cat lineage and has a very similar
16:08appearance to a clouded leopard, camouflaged with a distinct black and tan pattern.
16:13They are thought to be semi-arboreal, hunting many types of birds, squirrels, rats, mice
16:19and bats and are roughly the same size as a domesticated cat.
16:24Bay cats are endemic to the island of Borneo where they are listed as endangered with only
16:28around 2,500 left in the wild.
16:32The ocelot lineage contains only one genus, Leopardus, and is one of the most diverse
16:37lineages containing 8 species of cat, all living in Central and South America.
16:43With the exception of the ocelot, all of these cats are thought of as small cats, weighing
16:48no more than around 10 pounds.
16:51The ocelot is one of the most striking felines with clear and distinct black spots and streaks
16:57atop a yellowish-brown and white body.
17:00Weighing up to around 35 pounds, its size, the shape of its head and its poise are similar
17:06to that of a jaguar.
17:08Interestingly, the word ocelot derives from a word in the Uto-Aztec language family that
17:13translates to jaguar, presumably named so due to its similarity in appearance.
17:19The ocelot has a large range from the mountain ranges of eastern Mexico all the way down
17:24to the rainforests of Brazil.
17:26They are found in various types of forest, savannah and mangrove swamps, where they prey
17:31upon small mammals, rodents, fish and small birds, all whilst dodging larger cats, anacondas
17:38and harpy eagles.
17:41Margays are much smaller than ocelots at around 9 pounds, but are very similar in appearance
17:46and are often confused for this species.
17:49Occupying much of Central and South America, these adorable felines also have a very similar
17:54range to the ocelot, with the exception of far western Peru.
17:58They live in various types of forest including tropical evergreen, dry and cloud forest.
18:05Margays are famously agile and are often referred to as tree ocelots, leaping from tree to tree
18:10where they chase monkeys, birds and small reptiles.
18:14Their conservation status is currently set to near threatened.
18:18The Onsilla is another species often confused for the margay or the ocelot thanks to its
18:23similarity in markings.
18:26Weighing up to 6.5 pounds, this species also spends a lot of time in the trees, hunting
18:31for small rodents, birds and other small mammals.
18:35Its range is mostly restricted to northern South America, however a small population
18:39also exists in Costa Rica and Panama.
18:43In 2013, it was discovered that there were in fact two populations of Onsilla who didn't
18:49interbreed, creating two separate species named the northern and southern tiger cat.
18:55Visually it is difficult to distinguish between the two species.
18:59The southern tiger cat is said to have very similar markings to that of the northern tiger
19:03cat, but are slightly darker.
19:06The Jefferies cat is found only in the southern region of South America and is named in honour
19:11of the French zoologist Etienne-Joffroy St-Hilaire who died the same year the species was discovered.
19:18It has been known to live at altitudes of up to 3,800 metres in the Andes and is particularly
19:24prevalent in Bolivia where it is outnumbered only by the ocelot.
19:28They are around the same size as a domesticated cat and, interestingly, there is also a melanistic
19:34version although they are rare.
19:37The Cod Cod is the closest relative to the Jefferies cat and is the smallest feline in
19:41the Americas, weighing up to around 6 and a half pounds.
19:45It lives in a range of forest biomes including rainforest and deciduous temperate forest.
19:51The Andean mountain cat is an alpine-loving feline found in the Andes mountain range in
19:56South America.
19:57They have a much thicker coat than the margay, ocelot or Onsilla, allowing them to live exclusively
20:03at higher elevation along with the pampas cat and the puma.
20:07They prey almost entirely on mountain vizcacha, which are rodents with a similar appearance
20:12to rabbits.
20:14Unfortunately, the Andean mountain cat is classified as endangered and is the most threatened
20:18of all of the felines in the Americas.
20:22The pampas cat is another small cat from South America that exhibits thick fur used to stave
20:27off the cold in the mountainous regions of western South America.
20:31They are also found in grasslands, forests and shrubland where they hunt mountain vizcachas,
20:37rodents, guinea pigs and small birds.
20:40The leopard cat lineage is a group of small to medium-sized cats found throughout Asia.
20:46The two genera that make up this lineage diverged around 6.2 million years ago, making them
20:52the second youngest felid lineage.
20:54The otocolobus genera holds only one species, the palus's cat, also known as the manule.
21:02The prionolaurus genera holds the remaining five species.
21:06The leopard cat is found throughout most of South, Southeast and East Asia.
21:11There are many different subspecies of leopard cat and their appearance varies from region
21:15to region.
21:17Several species exhibit a longer, bushier coat such as the Tashima leopard cat who live
21:22in Japan and the Amur leopard cat.
21:25The Indonesian leopard cat has a much shorter pelage with darker, more defined coloration.
21:31They are both excellent swimmers and climbers, and being semi-arboreal, like to ambush small
21:37mammals, rodents and other animals from the cover of their forested habitat.
21:42Like the Onsila and southern tiger cat, a separate species was recently discovered previously
21:47thought to be a subspecies of leopard cat.
21:50The Sunda leopard cat is found on the island nations of Indonesia and the Philippines.
21:55They thrive in tropical forests where they have been observed hunting mice and rats,
22:00other rodents, lizards and beetles mostly during the night.
22:05A close relative to the leopard cat, the fishing cat is found in the wetlands, swamps, mangroves
22:11and lake ecosystems of South and Southeast Asia.
22:15Its known populations are dotted around the coast of the Bay of Bengal, with small populations
22:20found inland towards the Himalayas and West India.
22:24As their name and habitat would suggest, this medium-sized feline is extremely adept at
22:29swimming and lives primarily on a diet of fish, but also hunts birds, rodents, insects
22:35and reptiles.
22:37They have webbed paws to aid with swimming, although less so than the leopard cat.
22:42Like the fishing cat, the flat-headed cat inhabits wetland areas and eats large amounts
22:47of fish.
22:49Around the same size as a domestic cat, flat-headed cats are smaller than most of the other cats
22:54in this lineage and are particularly rare.
22:57They have similar vocalizations to that of a domesticated cat and are known to purr.
23:03They hunt mainly at night and will drag their aquatic prey away from the water to prevent
23:07it from escaping.
23:09The rusty-spotted cat is one of the smallest cats in the world.
23:13They weigh up to 3.5 pounds, which is around half the size of a domestic cat.
23:18They are found mainly in the temperate and tropical forests of India and Sri Lanka, but
23:22have also been found to exist in Nepal.
23:25Rusty-spotted cats have been known to climb trees, but they are certainly not arboreal
23:30and spend most of their time hunting small mammals and birds on the ground.
23:34The palace's cat, or manule, may just be my favourite species of cat.
23:39Through the powers of natural selection, they have evolved to exhibit the most intensely
23:43grumpy stare of any wild cat.
23:46The palace's cat is named after Peter Simon Palace, a Prussian zoologist who first encountered
23:51the manule in 1776 around Russia's Lake Baikal.
23:56Similar in appearance to the pampas cat, they exhibit thick fur and a bushy tail, which
24:01equip it well for the high mountainous regions of Asia in which they abide.
24:06They live solely in mountainous steeps and rocky areas of Central Asia, East Asia and
24:11the Middle East, where they hunt pikas and other small mammals.
24:16The domestic cat lineage contains six species, all of which are small to medium-sized cats
24:21found in Eurasia.
24:22Visually, they are the most similar to domestic cats, with only the black-footed cat having
24:28significant markings on its fur.
24:31The jungle cat is the largest felid in the domestic cat lineage, weighing up to around
24:3635 pounds.
24:38Although it is named as such, the jungle or tropical forest biome actually makes up very
24:42little of the jungle cat's territory.
24:45They are more often found in grasslands, deciduous forests, mountain terrain and wetlands, hence
24:51its nickname, the swamp cat.
24:53They exhibit a reddish-gray fur with two distinct black stripes on its front legs.
24:59It is found throughout much of the Middle East and Asia, where it preys on small mammals,
25:03birds and fish.
25:06The black-footed cat is the smallest feline in the domestic cat lineage and one of the
25:10smallest species in the world.
25:13They are found exclusively in the grasslands and deserts of southern Africa, in the countries
25:17of Nambia, Botswana and South Africa.
25:21Black-footed cats have a light brown coat with clear black markings and a strip of black
25:26fur under their feet, hence the name.
25:29They spend their day relaxing in the burrows of other animals and spend the night hunting
25:33for small animals including mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.
25:39The sand cat is a desert specialist.
25:42They are found throughout the western half of the Sahara Desert and dotted around the
25:45Middle East and Central Asia.
25:48Like the jungle cat, the sand cat also has two black stripes on its front legs, although
25:53their fur is much bushier.
25:55They are famous for hunting snakes, in particular the highly venomous members of the viper family.
26:01Sand cats are excellent diggers and spend most of the day escaping the desert heat in
26:05burrows.
26:07They hunt during the night and use their digging skills to prey upon animals such as the sand
26:12fish, a species of skink known to burrow or swim in the sand.
26:17The Chinese mountain cat is found in the alpine meadows and high altitude grasslands of northern
26:21China.
26:22They are one of the rarest cats in the world and many of their characteristics and behaviour
26:27traits are still unknown.
26:29They spend the day relaxing in burrows and hunt mainly during the night, preying upon
26:33birds and small mammals such as the pika.
26:37The African wildcat is the closest relative to the Chinese desert cat, both of which are
26:42two divergences removed from the domestic cat.
26:45They have a huge range covering the Middle East, Central and Southern Asia and most of
26:50Africa.
26:51They occupy a variety of biomes from the tropical grasslands of Africa to the steeps and mountain
26:57ranges of Central and Southern Asia.
26:59They prey mostly on small mammals such as mice and rats, birds, small reptiles and even
27:05insects.
27:07Although they are preyed upon by foxes, wolves, larger cats and birds of prey, their conservation
27:12status is currently listed as least concern.
27:16The European wildcat is similar in appearance to the African wildcat but has noticeably
27:21thicker fur to cope with the colder European climate.
27:24They are the closest relative to the domestic cat and, in addition to Scotland, are found
27:30throughout much of the Central and Southern regions of mainland Europe, as far east as
27:34Turkey and as far west as Portugal.
27:37They are mostly nocturnal but will hunt in the daytime and live in deciduous forests
27:42where they prey upon small mammals such as rats, foals and mice and many other animals
27:47including birds and reptiles.
27:50There are two known subspecies which separate those found in Turkey and the Caucasus region
27:55from those found throughout the rest of Europe.
27:58Thank you so much for watching.
28:00This video is part of a series of videos called Relatives, exploring some of the most fascinating
28:05families in the animal kingdom.
28:07Join me next time as we explore every species of canine including wolves, wild dogs and
28:13foxes.
28:14If you enjoyed the video, please give it a like and consider subscribing to the channel
28:18to stay up to date with this series.
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