Scientists Suspect Mediterranean "Cat-Fox" May Be an Entirely New Species

[jpak]

Last edited Sun Jun 30, 2019, 03:25 PM - Edit history (1)

https://www.inverse.com/article/56924-mediterranean-cat-fox-may-be-new-species

talking the forests of a Mediterranean island is a predator that’s as mysterious as it is deadly. The oral tradition has kept knowledge of the “ghjattu volpe” — the cat-fox — alive over generations, even though the animal has rarely ever been spotted. Shepherds and farmers on the island of Corsica told stories of the small forest cat attacking their sheep’s and goats’ udders, but officially, the animal didn’t exist in the scientific record.

In 2008, that started to change when a cat-fox got caught in a chicken coop by accident. In an effort to figure out just what kind of animal was roaming the mountainous forests on Corsica, wildlife officials started placing scent traps that would encourage the cats to rub up against them. In 2012, one of these devices — a simple contraption involving a wooden post and a scented attractant — trapped enough fur from a cat-fox to yield a DNA sample. In 2016, researchers captured their first live cat-fox, and in the time since, they’ve captured, examined, and released 12 of the 16 that have been spotted in the area.

Now they’re that much closer to determining whether the cat-fox is indeed a unique 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, the chief environmental technician for France’s National Hunting and Wildlife Office (ONCFS), told French news outlet AFP.

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[MicaelS]

1. Fascinating. n/t

[KatyMan]

2. Oscar identified at last!

I can't find the link, but it was the funniest thread in DU history!

EDIT: found it: https://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=624815