The Iriomote cat (Prionailurus bengalensis iriomotensis) is a subspecies of the leopard cat that lives exclusively on the Japanese island of Iriomote.
It has been listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2008, as the only population comprises fewer than 250 adult individuals, and is considered declining.
In Japanese, the subspecies is called . In local dialects of the Yaeyama language, it is known as , , and .
Description
thumb|Facial close-up
The fur of the Iriomote cat is mostly dark grey and light brown, with lighter hair on the belly and insides of the limbs. Markings along the jaw are white. Its tail is thick from base to tip and long.
The anal glands of the Iriomote cat surround the anus; this contrasts with other cat species', where they are inside the anus.
Distribution
thumb|Map of Iriomote island
The Iriomote cat is endemic to the Japanese Iriomote Island, which spans about . Iriomote consists predominantly of low mountains ranging in elevation with subtropical evergreen forest, including extensive belts of mangrove along the waterways. It is the smallest habitat of any wild cat species in the world.
The Iriomote cat lives predominantly in the subtropical forests that cover the island up to an elevation of . It prefers areas near rivers, forest edges, and places with low humidity.
Iriomote cats are territorial. They typically ingest of food a day.
Mammalian prey includes black rats, Ryukyu flying foxes and young Ryukyu wild boar. Their prey also includes a wide range of birds, such as the Eastern spot-billed duck, slaty-legged crake, Eurasian scops-owl, pale thrush, and white-breasted waterhen. They are also known to hunt Sakishima rice frogs, yellow-spotted crickets and crabs. Outside the mating season the cats live in solitude, but when they begin breeding, they live together. The locations chosen for birthing and rearing are dry and have good ventilation.
Discovery
thumb|A [[taxidermy specimen at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo]]
thumb|A taxidermied Iriomote cat at the Iriomote Wildlife Conservation Centre
The Iriomote cat was discovered in 1965 by , an author who specialised in works about animals. In 1967, it was first described by Yoshinori Imaizumi, director of the zoological department of the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo.
Prior to its scientific discovery, the Iriomote cat was known locally by various names: , . To distinguish between the Iriomote cat and other cats on the island, locals also gave other cats nicknames such as for stray cats and or for house cats. Others, however, believed that the Iriomote cat was a feral cat.
In May 1965, prior to Togawa's return to the island, a group of children from on a field trip to the southern part of the island found a weakened, injured male Iriomote cat at the base of the small on . The teacher in charge of the children took the cat. Another teacher preserved the pelt in formalin and buried the skeleton in a wooden box behind the school. Togawa exhumed the remains, and this cat became the prototype for the species. The cats were then transferred to the museum for monitoring. The male died on 25 April 1973, and the female on 13 December 1975. The male's pelt was temporarily stuffed, the blood was sent off for chromosomal research, and the rest of the body was preserved in formaldehyde. The female was stuffed and put on display in the museum.
In contrast to Imaizumi's assertions about its unique characteristics, other researchers strongly disputed the idea that the Iriomote cat is its own species ever since its discovery. Investigations involving skulls and teeth, samples and living animals, and genetic research were conducted.
The Iriomote cat's karyotype, the restriction fragment length of the ribosomal RNA (rRNA), and molecular phylogenetic analyses of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA and cytochrome b have proven to be identical, or nearly so, to the leopard cat's. The two cats are assumed to be extremely closely related, their differences being categorised as either intraspecies variations or individual mutations. Also, from the speed of cytochrome b's base-pair substitution and its diversity, it is estimated that the Iriomote cat diverged from the leopard cat around 180,000-200,000 years ago. According to marine geologists, the Ryukyu Islands were connected to mainland Asia via a land bridge from about 20,000 to 240,000 years ago. Scientists believe that the Iriomote cat moved its range to the islands during this period.
Threats
thumb|right|Sign warning motorists of animals, with a picture of an Iriomote cat
Destruction of habitat due to development, predation by dogs, traffic accidents, and traps set for wild boar and crabs all contribute to the decline in number of Iriomote cats. The government has successfully eliminated the stray cat population on Iriomote.
thumb|left|Iriomote Wildlife Conservation Centre
The primary fear stems from house cats that have become feral or partially feral, but there has been no monitoring of these interactions. Pressure from competition over food, contact with house cats that have contracted feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and other contagious diseases, as well as decrease in population due to hybridisation are all important issues with the Iriomote cat. Because of the fears regarding transmission of the disease, starting in 2001, Taketomi Town enacted the Cat Breeding Ordinance which required all residents to register their pet cats. In June 2008, the ordinance was revised to include mandatory FIV testing and vaccinations, spaying and neutering, and microchipping. A new limit to the number of pets allowed per owner was also added.
Furthermore, the cane toad, which secretes a poisonous liquid from glands in its ears, has also appeared on the island. In order to prevent further contamination of Iriomote, residents of Ishigaki Island began extermination measures in 2008.
Conservation
Status
Since 2008, the Iriomote cat has been categorised as "critically endangered" by the IUCN. On 15 May 1972, along with the recovery of Okinawa, it was nationally recognised as a natural monument. On 15 March 1977, it was given special status amongst natural monuments, and in 1994 with the Species Protection Act, it was designated as a . This act was adopted on 28 January and enacted on 1 March.
Projects and activities
In 1977, Prince Philip wrote a letter addressed to Crown Prince Akihito regarding the preservation of the Iriomote cat. The report attached to the letter written by Professor Leyhausen suggested outlawing any further migration to the island, as well as banning the cultivation of the land. Despite these efforts, not enough land within the cats' preferred habitat of less than 200 m above sea level was included. In 1995 the was established to increase preservation work, enforce research, and to increase understanding of the cat's ecological needs. However, many residents have objected to restrictions on land cultivation and improvement brought about by the measures in place to protect the Iriomote cat and other species on the island.
In captivity
There have been a handful of Iriomote cats kept in captivity. A five-week-old male kitten that had been separated from its mother was found on 14 June 1979. He was named Keita and was kept at the Okinawa Zoo until he died of old age at approximately thirteen years and two months of age.
Following the accident, he couldn't move on his own, but he regained his ability to walk while on Ishigaki. He was brought back to the Iriomote Wildlife Preservation Centre for rehabilitation on 31 August. Originally labelled W-48 since he was the forty-eighth confirmed sighting of an Iriomote cat on the western part of the island, he was eventually given the name Yon.
The town of Taketomi initiated an "Iriomote Wild Cat Day" () in 2015. In July 2016, Taketomi signed a partnership with Tsushima based on their common endemic wild cats. Tsushima hosts the Tsushima cat, another leopard cat subspecies.
The island also has several statues representing the Iriomote cat. In the south-east of the island, spanning across the Nakama River, the Nakama bridge is guarded on each side by two stone statues of the cat in various positions. And in 2017, the town of Taketomi revealed two new bronze statues, one in a rest area on the west coast of Iriomote Island, and the other at the beginning of a bridge in the North of the island.
Yamapikaryaa
In general, names such as yamapikaryaa are used in reference to the Iriomote cat, but some locals claim to have seen another type of cat on the island. It is described as being twice as large as a domestic cat, with a tail that is 60 cm long and a coat pattern that is different from what the Iriomote cat displays. It has been sighted several times.
In 1965, Togawa spoke with a local hunter who claimed to have killed a large cat with fur like a tiger's. He disposed of the body, and Haemi on the southern part of the island, where the body was disposed of, was searched.
, on the other hand, spoke with a hunter in 1994 who had the skull of what he believed was a large wild cat. Tadaaki Imaizumi determined that it was a house cat.