麻豆影院

The origin(s) of Madagascar 鈥渇orest鈥� or 鈥渨ild鈥� cats has long been a mystery

Being separated from all other land masses since the late Cretaceous, when dinosaurs still dominated many parts of the Earth, Madagascar has long been referred to听听鈥渘atural laboratory of evolution鈥�. Its long isolation resulted in unique fauna and flora, most of which have evolved in place.听

Madagascar only has four groups of endemic land mammals: primates (lemurs), rodents, Afrotheres (formerly insectivores such as tenrecs), and carnivores. Yet there鈥檚 huge diversity within these four groups.听

When it comes to endemic terrestrial carnivores, there鈥檚 only one group that is recognized: the Eupleridae. Of these, the largest is the fosa. This is neither a felid (cat family) nor a canid (dog family). It is closely related to the mongoose and weighs between 5 and 10 kg. It has long been the primary mammalian predator of lemurs and other Malagasy mammals.听

So, the conventional view is that Madagascar has no native cats (i.e. felids). Yet, cats are plentiful on the island.听

There are two general types of cats in Madagascar: village cats, and a wild 鈥渇orest鈥� form. This 鈥渇orest cat鈥� has long been听听by the Malagasy from village or feral domestic cats and is often viewed as a threat to domestic animals such as poultry. Given eye-witness accounts and reports 鈥� including our own 鈥� this little understood, wild 鈥渇orest cat鈥� is also an effective predator of Madagascar鈥檚 famous lemurs.

The 鈥渇orest cats鈥� are quite distinct in their outward appearance, consistently having a 鈥渢abby鈥� or striped fur, longer legs, and a larger size (up to 5kg).

In contrast, 鈥渧illage鈥� cats generally look like domestic cats seen around the world 鈥� a solid fur color (often white), shorter legs and a body size of about 2kg.听

The external morphology of the forest cats is thus very different from the village ones. It鈥檚 also quite similar 鈥� on the surface 鈥� to the African wild cats seen in eastern and southern portions of continental Africa.听

Therefore, the origin(s) of Madagascar 鈥渇orest鈥� or 鈥渨ild鈥� cats has long been a mystery. Are they descended from the African wild cat (Felis lybica) arriving with East African pastoralists, who culturally dominate Madagascar鈥檚 southern regions? Are they a product of recently arrived domestic cats (Felis silvestris) from Europe, the Arabian realm or Southeast Asia?

To determine the origin(s) of Madagascar鈥檚 鈥渇orest cats鈥�, we and our colleagues, carried out听.听

Our findings reveal that Malagasy 鈥渇orest cats鈥� are descendants of cats from the Arabian Sea region. They did not originate from continental Africa鈥檚 wild cats and are instead related to domestic cats.听

Cat tracking

Our team 鈥� a collaboration between scientists from six countries across three continents 鈥� collected genetic data from 30 鈥渇orest鈥� cats at two locations in Madagascar, three individuals from the Bez脿 Mahafaly Special Reserve in the southwest, and 27 individuals from Ankarafantsika National Park in the far north of the island.听

These data were compared with approximately 1900 samples from various domestic and wild cats across the world, to assess the degree of relatedness of the Malagasy wild forms.听

The data produced by our team 鈥� combining the expertise, experience and skills of both field and laboratory scientists 鈥� revealed that the Malagasy 鈥渇orest cats鈥� most closely cluster with domestic cats specifically from the Arabian sea region, including the Kenyan islands of Lamu and Pate. The Malagasy cats are thus descendants of domestic cats from the Arabian Sea region and not continental听.

Origins

When and how did this diaspora begin? The Arabian Sea and Kenyan Islands cats likely made it to Madagascar over the past millennium, or slightly earlier, by way of the听. There were several waves of migration to Madagascar from the Arabian realm over the past 1000 years or so.听

These migrations brought architecture, linguistic components, and eventually a written script by the 18th century. And, they brought cats. Thus, Madagascar鈥檚 鈥渇orest cats鈥� are oceanic migrants from elsewhere 鈥� as with Madagascar鈥檚 other terrestrial mammals, albeit via a human source rather than natural听, such as the ancestors of Madagascar鈥檚 lemurs.

Study or eradicate?

What does this new information mean for these felids? Our results suggest Madagascar鈥檚 鈥渇orest cats鈥� may have been introduced a millennium ago, and if so, studying their behaviour, biology and ecology provides a window into how exotic species adapt to island biogeography, as well as insight regarding听.听

Importantly, our findings also raise the questions of what these cats鈥� role is in Madagascar鈥檚 forest ecosystems. Should they be听听鈥� at least from protected reserves 鈥� as has been done on other islands in terms of introduced species?听

The conservation questions surrounding these new data are complex and require thoughtful conversation to understand the whole story of Madagascar鈥檚 鈥渇orest cats鈥�.

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