Asian Leopard Cat

1. Asian Leopard Cat By: Rajdeep Galsi

2. Species Profile • Kingdom: Animalia • Phylum: Chordata • Class: Mammalia • Order: Carnivora • Family: Felidae • Genus: Pronailurus • Species: P. Bengalensis

3. Species Profile • Scientific Name:Prionailurusbengalensis • Common Names: Indian Leopard Cat (FelisBengalensis), Iriomate Cat ( BengalensisIriomotensis), Bengal Cat • Geographic Range: India, Japan(Iriomate Island, Ryukyu Islands), Southeast Asia. • Taxonomy: n/a (still being discussed by biologists) • Habitats: Land Regions, Mountains, Forested or Wooded Areas.(terrestial) • Group: Mammals • Current Population: close to 50,000

4. Major Threats • Major Threats: A threat to the Asian Leopard Cat is habitat destruction. This is especially a problem to species that live on islands, where there populations and habitat is hard to begin with. The Asian Leopard Cat is known to be as a pest and killed when they raid farms. The Asian Leopard Cat is hunted for the fur trade, trophies, sports, and meat for the dinner table. Through Asia, their pelts are sold in gift shops, about 200,000 pelts are shipped from China.

5. Food Web • Refer to Food Web Given Endangered Species Assignment.docx

6. Classification • The Asian leopard cat is known as a chordata. Chordates (phylum Chordata) are animals which are either vertebrates or one of several closely related invertebrates

7. Chordata: Birds • Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic (warm-blooded), egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species that are birds. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. (ex; penguins, flamingos, blue birds, humming bird, and a lot more. • They are classified due to living style, foot structure, and beak structure. They have a double circulatory system and a four-chambered heart. Both their excretory and digestive wastes are mixed and released together through the cloaca. • Kingdom: Animalia • Phylum: Chordata • Branch:Avialae • Class: Aves

8. Chordata: Reptiles • Reptiles are animals in the Linnaean class Reptilia. They are characterized by breathing air, laying shelled eggs (except for some vipers and constrictor snakes that give live birth), and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. Reptiles are classically viewed as having a "cold-blooded" metabolism. They are tetrapods (either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors). Modern reptiles inhabit every continent except • Kingdom: Animalia • Phylum: Chordata • clade: Amniota • Class: Reptilia

9. Chordata: Fish • Fish are a paraphyletic (composed of some but not all members descending from a common ancestor) group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that do not have limbs • Kingdom: Animalia • Phylum: Chordata

10. Consequences • When you remove one element from a fragile ecosystem, it has far reaching and long lasting effects on biodiversity. This impacts on local communities, habitats and other species which share this species home. If the Asian Leopard Cat were to be extinct, there would be an imbalancement of the animals that it eats. The species that the Asian Leopard Cat eats, will expand. This excessive population would then totally ravage its food source - vegetation. If the vegetation in the jungles is used up, smaller animals and insects would not survive there. If the insects moved to the crops in farmlands vital food sources could be lost, impacting on human populations.If plants can no longer grow in the jungle the soil will become infertile and eventually the jungle - and all thatdepend on it - will fade away.

11. Personal Response • Biodiversity is one of the key factors that keep humans alive. Biodiversity includes all species; animals, plants and humans. There are many animals that are being extinct every day. Most animals are being listed as endangered by the Red List. There are more than 8.7 species on earth, and still there are species yet to be discovered. These species have a big role in biodiversity, whether it small or big, they keep their habitat in order. It is very important to have an environment that is well-balanced. If an environment is not balanced, there is higher chance of species dying due to the lack of food because of the increase of species in that environment; that is why biodiversity is important. Biodiversity is basically “the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem” (dictionary). “Biodiversity is really important because, itboosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how small, all have an important role to play”. (Why Biodiversity is Important). Biodiversity is very important to humans because the different species that are associated with biodiversity provide us with medication, food, shelter, warmth, building materials and etc. Each species in an environment depend on the services provided by other species to ensure survival. Biodiversity is not evenly distributed; rather it varies greatly across the globe as well as within regions. Among other factors, the diversity of all living things depends on temperature, precipitation, altitude, soils, geography and the presence of other species. • Many benefits to biodiversity is water quality, waste disposal, soil, medicine and a lot more, biodiversity has helped us humans very much. But there are many threats to biodiversity as well, but they gradually have been decreasing year by year (ex; habitat degradation and loss, pollution, global environmental change, and overuse of resources). In conclusion, biodiversity helps both animals/plants and humans.

12. Action Plan • Refer to Brochure • Endangered Species Assignment - Brochure.docx

13. Bibliography • Bibliography: Shah, A. (n.d.). Why Is Biodiversity Important? Who Cares? — Global Issues. Global Issues : social, political, economic and environmental issues that affect us all — Global Issues. Retrieved October 19, 2011, from http://www.globalissues.org/article/170/why-is-biodiversity-important-who-cares • 500 Internal Server Error. (n.d.). Endangered Species. Retrieved October 20, 2011, from http://earthsendangered.com/profile.asp?gr=M&sp=62 • Endangered Species. (n.d.). Endangered Species. Retrieved October 20, 2011, from http://earthsendangered.com/full_list.asp • The Asian Leopard Cat - the bengals wild ancestor. (n.d.). Bengal cat guide - Information aboutbengal cats. Retrieved October 20, 2011, from http://www.bengalcat.co.uk/asian-leopard-cat.htm • Majinyau Bengals - The Asian Leopard Cat. (n.d.). Majinyau Bengals - Welcome to MajiNyau Bengals. Retrieved October 20, 2011, from http://www.majinyau.ca/leopardCatAnc • Shah, A. (n.d.). Why Is Biodiversity Important? Who Cares? — Global Issues. Global Issues : social, political, economic and environmental issues that affect us all — Global Issues. Retrieved October 20, 2011, from http://www.globalissues.org/article/170/why-is-biodiversity-important-who-cares • Biodiversity Explanation & Importance. (n.d.). The Center for International Environmental Law: Defending the right to a healthy planet. Retrieved October 20, 2011, from http://www.ciel.org/Biodiversity/WhatIsBiodiversity

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