Tsushima leopard cat
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Wild Tsushima leopard cats have also been seen eating eels.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Tsushima leopard cat
- Scientific name
- Prionailurus bengalensis euptilurus
- Japanese name
- ツシマヤマネコ
- Group
- Land mammals
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Carnivora
- Family
- Felidae
- Genus
- Prionailurus
The Tsushima leopard cat is the population of the Amur leopard cat, a subspecies of the leopard cat, that lives on Tsushima in Nagasaki Prefecture.
This wild cat lives on Tsushima in Nagasaki Prefecture. Its ancestors are thought to have come over long ago from the Eurasian continent, when the land was connected.
Its body is covered with spots, and stripes run lengthwise from its forehead to its neck.
In broadleaf forests and farmland it eats mice, small birds, moles, frogs, snakes, insects and more.
How the Tsushima leopard cat lives
It tends to be especially active around sunset. In winter, birds such as thrushes make up a greater share of its food. It usually lives alone. Males and females mate in winter, and young are born in spring.
九州森林管理局福岡市動物園Basic data
- Size
- Head and body length: 50–60 cm
- Diet
- Mice, small birds, moles, frogs, snakes, insects, and other animals
- Range
- Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture
- Conservation status in Japan
- Critically Endangered (CR)Ministry of the Environment of Japan, Red List 2020
Where the Tsushima leopard cat has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- ツシマヤマネコ
- 简体中文
- 对马山猫
- 繁體中文
- 對馬山貓
- 한국어
- 쓰시마삵
- Français
- Chat-léopard de Sibérie
- Português (Brasil)
- Gato-leopardo-de-Amur
- Русский
- Амурский лесной кот
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 井の頭自然文化園 — ツシマヤマネコChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Prionailurus bengalensisChecked: 2026-11-03
- 九州森林管理局 — ツシマヤマネコChecked: 2026-11-07
- 福岡市動物園 — ツシマヤマネコChecked: 2026-11-07
- Ministry of the Environment of Japan, Red List 2020Checked: 2026-11-07
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
The conservation status in Japan is the category in the Red Lists of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, which assess the risk of extinction for wild animals in Japan.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Tsushima leopard cat, look for this
- Look for the white patches on the black backs of its rounded ears.
- Take a look at its long, thick tail, too.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
九州森林管理局EXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Tsushima leopard cat
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Kanto
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
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