You say countryside, does that mean it was taken in the wild? The reason I ask is that the faint hazy white lines look just like the pattern you get from shooting through a fence in a zoo.
I guess it's made in a zoo because its in the Zoorasia Gallery but maybe a section of this zoo is called "Japanese countryside".
BTW is it a recognized subspecies because I never have heared of it and is Zoorasia breeding ( or trying so ) with it ?
Are there any others in other Japanese zoos ?
Worth noting, of course, that this taxon is currently identified as synonymous with the Amur Cat - although if the taxon in question is granted full species status I imagine it is quite possible the Tsushima cat will be deemed a different subspecies from the mainland variety. Certainly the stripes on the head are much more distinct when compared to the mainland Amur Cat.
Ah, yes, I did not even bother to look at the gallery heading. Zoorasia it is.
Interesting comment about being aligned with amur leopard cat, as I did notice it had a coarse coat and minimal spotting just like the amur leopard cats I saw at Parc Felins (and many years ago at San Diego).
TLD (or anyone else who knows), I am correct that no Japanese zoos hold the Iriomote leopard cat?
Iriomote cats are only held at a conservation centre on Iriomote (off display, but I think they might have a video monitor. Not entirely sure about that last bit). I think they are all, or at least mostly, rescue animals hit by cars and so forth.
I guess it's made in a zoo because its in the Zoorasia Gallery but maybe a section of this zoo is called "Japanese countryside".
BTW is it a recognized subspecies because I never have heared of it and is Zoorasia breeding ( or trying so ) with it ?
Are there any others in other Japanese zoos ?
"Japanese countryside" is a name of one of the sections in Zoorasia; so it's a shot through a fence.
There are currently 10 zoos keeping the Tsushima leopard cat, and some have succeeded in breeding them. Zoorasia only had two males until they received a female from Fukuoka Zoo in late 2013. The zoo tried to pair the female with one of the males, and it seemed to be going on well, but tragically the male bit her to death.
