A strange looking feline that wanders the remote backwoods of the French island of Corsica might be another species, as indicated by nearby news reports.
These cats are referred to local people as "feline foxes," and untamed life officers in Corsica feel that they may be another, undocumented species, as indicated by the Agence France-Presse (AFP).
These feline foxes earned their name due to their size (somewhat bigger than a normal household feline) and their tail enrichments — the vast majority of them have two to four rings on their tails that end in a dark tip. The felines are around 35 inches (90 centimeters) in length from head to tail; they have wide ears, short stubbles and canine like teeth, as per the AFP. [The 10 Strangest Animal Discoveries]
Researchers at the National Hunting and Wildlife Office in Corsica have been examining these cats for over a decade. Back in 2012, they examined fur left behind when the cat-foxes rubbed their bodies on a stick that had been coated with an attractive scent. When the researchers examined the DNA from that fur, they found these cat-foxes weren't related to any known species around the world, but their DNA was similar to that of the African forest cat (Felis silvestris lybica).
Four years later, they captured the first cat-fox for examination and have since captured, examined and released 12 out of 16 individuals seen on the island. The researchers placed GPS collars on some of those cat-foxes, so they can follow the animals' meanderings on the island.
The researchers found the feline's main predator is the golden eagle; they hypothesize that the animal might have been brought to the remote island by farmers in 6500 B.C., according to the AFP. But there's still much unknown about the cat-fox — and the researchers hope that the animal will be recognized as a new species and protected in the upcoming years.
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