A whole clutch of little cats, similar in biology and behaviour to large cats, are found in a variety of habitats around the world. The puma, also known as mountain lion and cougar, is rather a large little cat – much more than 1.5m long and weighing around 100kg. This brownish yellow lone-ranger maintains its large territory in rocky parts of all kinds of habitats in North, Central and South America. It often jumps on its prey, covering 7m in one leap.

In North American forests the bobcat targets hares, rabbits, rodents and deer in its territory. Lynxes are discovered in North America and also in Europe and Asia. They stalk and pounce on hares, birds and little deer at dusk. Related to the lynx is the caracal, a reddish medium sized cat of African savannah also discovered in desert places of the Middle East and as far east as Pakistan. It’s an agile hunter, able to jump and snatch birds within the air at breakneck speed. To prevent the heat from the day, it generally feeds at night. It has characteristic long tufts on its ears.

Nearly a metre lengthy, the serval is a spotted African cat with big ears and lanky legs. Within the lengthy grass of savannah and swamp margins, it stalks rodents, lizards and amphibians then pounces high on to them. Some little cats are found in dense forests. The spotted ocelot, much more than a metre lengthy, lives in pairs in well-defined territories in South American forests, it’s a nimble climber and often catches roosting birds at night. The smaller margay is an equally superb climber. The lengthy, squat jaguarundi prefers scrubby parts of the forests.

On the move night and day, it feeds on rodents, frogs, birds and rabbits. The nocturnal leopard cat is smaller and preys on rodents, birds, bats and other little mammals from the East Asian forests. The pallas cat, or manul, lives in steppe and rocky mountain places of Central Asia. It has long fur, short legs, low-set, far-apart ears and eyes placed near the top of its flat head.

This is said to allow the cat to peer over rocks unseen when eyeing-up pikas, hares, rabbits and birds. The sand cat of Africa has a comparable build towards the pallas cat, and also long fur on its feet to help it grip slippery sand in its desert house. The fishing cat of Asia enters marshes, streams and swamps to catch fish with its slightly webbed paws and its jaws. With excellent acrobatic skill, it scoops them up.

The European wildcat is like a big domestic tabby cat with a ferocious temperament. The African wildcat, which is the forerunner from the domestic cat, is very similar to the European wildcat – possibly a subspecies of it. During the day, wildcats sleep in a den, emerging at night to hunt birds and rodents. The golden cat of Africa is really a bit bigger than most African wildcats and sports golden fur. It’s large sufficient to tackle little deer.