Possible new species of cat discovered on Corsica.

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The Romulan Republic
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Possible new species of cat discovered on Corsica.

Post by The Romulan Republic »

And it looks fucking adorable.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/scie ... 67121.html
On the Mediterranean island of Corsica, a rare and mysterious wild animal stalks the balmy nights.

The locals know it as the ghjattu volpe – the cat-fox. It has a semi-legendary status in Corsican folklore and has long been feared by shepherds for apparently attacking goats and sheep.

But over the past decade scientists have been on the trail of this elusive creature, and now a team working with France’s national hunting and wildlife office (ONCFS), have revealed they believe the animal to be a new species.

“We believe that it’s a wild natural species which was known but not scientifically identified because it’s an extremely inconspicuous animal with nocturnal habits,” Pierre Benedetti, chief environmental technician of the ONCFS told AFP.

“It’s a wonderful discovery,” he added.

The cat-fox, so called because of its colour and markings, is a densely furred russet-coloured wild cat, with black-striped paws and a black-ringed tail.

They are considerably larger than domestic cats, measuring up to 90cm from head to tail-tip, with wide-set ears, shorter whiskers and larger canine teeth.

Its thick coat is thought to protect it from ticks and fleas.

Only a tiny number had ever been recorded, but in 2008 a cat-fox was accidentally caught in a chicken coop, renewing interest in the unusual animal.

Research got underway, and by 2012 new techniques of attracting the rare cat allowed scientists to study it for the first time.

Scented lures and posts for the cats to rub themselves against provided the researchers with fur from which to conduct genetic analyses.

With advanced photographic and later physical traps, the researchers captured their first cat-fox in 2016.

Since then, the research team has captured 12 of 16 of the cats seen in the area, releasing them again after a quick examination.

“By looking at its DNA, we could tell it apart from the European wildcat, Felis silvestris silvestris,” said Mr Benedetti.

“It’s close to the African forest cat, Felis silvestris lybica, but its exact identity is still to be determined,” he added.

The animals live in a remote part of Corsica where there is “water and plant cover offering protection against its main predator, the golden eagle”, Carlu-Antone Cecchini, ONCFS field agent in charge of forest cats, told AFP.
You know, between this and the possible new Orca species a few months ago, cryptozoology's been having a good stretch here. I mean, its not as exciting as capturing a Bigfoot or a sea serpent or something, but a new mammal being confirmed somewhere as thoroughly gone over as Corsica? Nice.
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FaxModem1
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Re: Possible new species of cat discovered on Corsica.

Post by FaxModem1 »

Okay, I want one.

I wonder if this is due to the fact that mankind is encroaching on more and more habitats with our development, making discoveries of more species inevitable.
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Re: Possible new species of cat discovered on Corsica.

Post by The Romulan Republic »

That's probably part of it. The article mentions one of the steps in its discover was one getting caught raiding a chicken coop.
"I know its easy to be defeatist here because nothing has seemingly reigned Trump in so far. But I will say this: every asshole succeeds until finally, they don't. Again, 18 months before he resigned, Nixon had a sky-high approval rating of 67%. Harvey Weinstein was winning Oscars until one day, he definitely wasn't."-John Oliver

"The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan."-General Von Clauswitz, describing my opinion of Bernie or Busters and third partiers in a nutshell.

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Re: Possible new species of cat discovered on Corsica.

Post by Sea Skimmer »

Very cool.

I doubt its mankind encroachment, that island has been well populated for several thousand years. Rather I suspect it's more an aspect of apathy and assumption, we don't expect to find a new kind of mammal on an island... populated for that long.
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