In the remote forests of Corsica, a French island, researchers believe they have found a new species of fox-like cats.
Locals call the animals ghattu volpe, or “cat foxes.” They’re slightly larger than the average house cat, and have two to four rings on their tails that end in a black tip.
The elusive animals are rarely spotted due to their nocturnal habits. In 2008, a cat-fox was caught in a chicken coop by mistake, and researchers from Corsica’s National Hunting and Wildlife Office began to seek out the animals in hopes of learning more about them.
The researchers created scent traps by coating sticks with an attractive odor and examined the fur that the animals left behind when they rubbed their bodies on the sticks. Upon studying the DNA in the fur, the researchers discovered that cat-foxes were unrelated to any known species in the world. However, their DNA is similar to that of the African forest cat, Felis silvestris lybica.
They have since placed GPS collars on some cat-foxes, which will help them track the felines’ movements around the island.
There is still much more to be discovered about these fascinating creatures. The researchers hope that cat-foxes will soon be recognized by the scientific community as a distinct species so that they can be protected in the years to come.
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