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| The Chinese mountain cat is a secretive, nocturnal animal. |
A remote camera set up on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau in China’s Sichuan Province has captured eight images of what scientists call the “elusive” Chinese mountain cat. The camera was triggered by the cat’s body heat.
The photographs represent the first time the species has been photographed in the wild, Jim Sanderson said in a report by National Geographic. Sanderson, a cat specialist with the Wildlife Conservation Network, led the team that captured the rare photos. Sanderson and his team hope the new images will uncover some of the Chinese mountain cat’s habits.
“There’s no interest in its conservation because it’s poorly known,” Sanderson says, “but now perhaps this will change.”
Chinese mountain cats are closely related to the wildcat and jungle cat, being slightly larger and heavier than domestic cats. The coat is sand colored with black rings on the tail. Nocturnal hunters, the cats prefer rodents and birds.