Which Cat Species Are Endangered? We Take Stock on Earth Day 2016

Four endangered cat species. Clockwise from top left:
Amur Tiger, Andean Cat, Flat-headed Cat, Fishing Cat.
Credits: Amur Tiger in Louisville Zoo by Ltshears [CC BY-SA 3.0].
Andean Cat by Jim Sanderson [CC BY-SA 3.0 ].
Flat-headed Cat by Jim Sanderson [CC BY-SA 3.0].
Fishing Cat in Tennoji Zoo, Osaka, Japan, by pelican [CC BY-SA 2.0].

For Earth Day 2016, we thought we’d take a look at how our wild cousins are doing, so we went to the Internet to collect data, which She of Little Talent put into this table. She even added subspecies and color-coded it, so it might actually be useful. As you can see, some species seem to be doing well, but there is still too much yellow, orange, and red (Vulnerable, Endangered, and Critically Endangered, respectively) on that list.

To get a Word or pdf file of the list, drop an e-mail to roby@robysweet.com and we’ll send you one.

Conservation Status of Wild Cat Species

Taxonomic Name	Common Name	Status (publication date)*
Panthera leo	Lion	Vulnerable (2015)
P. leo	West African subpopulation	Critically Endangered (2015)
P. leo persica	Asiatic Lion, Indian Lion	Endangered (2008)
Panthera tigris	Tiger	Endangered (2015)
P. tigris altaica	Amur Tiger	Endangered (2011)
P. tigris amoyensis	South China Tiger	Critically Endangered, possibly extinct in wild (2015)
P. tigris corbetti	Indochinese Tiger	Endangered (2011)
P. tigris jacksoni	Malayan Tiger	Critically Endangered (2015)
P. tigris sumatrae	Sumatran Tiger	Critically Endangered (2008)
P. tigris tigris	Bengal Tiger	Endangered (2011)
P. tigris balica	Bali Tiger	Extinct (1940s)
P. tigris sondaica	Javan Tiger	Extinct (mid-1970s)
P. tigris virgata	Caspian Tiger	Extinct (1970s)
Panthera onca	Jaguar	Near Threatened
Panthera uncia	Snow Leopard	Endangered
Panthera pardus	Leopard	Near Threatened
P. pardus kotiya	Sri Lankan Leopard	Endangered (2008)
P. pardus melas	Javan Leopard	Critically Endangered (2008)
P. pardus nimr	Arabian Leopard	Critically Endangered (2008)
P. pardus orientalis	Amur Leopard	Critically Endangered (2008)
P. pardus saxicolor	Persian Leopard	Endangered (2008)
Neofilis nebulosa	Clouded Leopard	Vulnerable
Catopuma badia	Borneo Bay Cat	Endangered
Pardofelis marmorata	Marbled Cat	Near Threatened
Catopuma temminckii	Asiatic Golden Cat	Near Threatened
Leptailurus serval	Serval	Least Concern
Caracal caracal	Caracal	Least Concern
Caracal aurata	African Golden Cat	Vulnerable (2015)
Leopardus pardalis	Ocelot	Least Concern (2015)
Leopardus wiedii	Margay	Near Threatened (2015)
Leopardus geoffroyi	Geoffroy’s Cat	Least Concern (2015)
Leopardus guigna	Guiña	Vulnerable (2015)
Leopardus jacobita	Andean Cat	Endangered (2008)
Leopardus tigrinus	Oncilla	Vulnerable (2008)
L. tigrinus oncilla	Central American Oncilla, Central American Little Spotted Cat	Endangered (2008)
Leopardus colocolo	Pampas Cat	Near Threatened (2015)
Lynx lynx	Eurasian Lynx	Least Concern (2015)
L. lynx balcanicus	Balkan Lynx	Critically Endangered (2015)
Lynx pardinus	Iberian Lynx	Endangered (2015)
Lynx canadensis	Canadian Lynx	Least Concern (2015)
Lynx rufus	Bobcat	Least Concern (2008)
Acinonyx jubatus	Cheetah	Vulnerable (2015)
A. jubatus hecki	Northwest African Cheetah, Saharan Cheetah	Critically Endangered (2008)
A. jubatus venaticus	Asiatic Cheetah, Iranian Cheetah	Critically Endangered (2008)
Puma concolor	Puma	Least Concern (2015)
Herpailurus yagouaroundi	Jaguarundi	Least Concern (2015)
Otocolobus manul	Pallas’s Cat (Manul)	Near Threatened (2015)
Prionailurus viverrinus	Fishing Cat	Endangered (2010)
Prionailurus bengalensis	Leopard Cat	Least Concern (2015)
P. bengalensis iriomotensis	Iriomote Cat	Critically Endangered (2015)
P. bengalensis robori	Visayan Leopard Cat	Vulnerable (2008)
Prionailurus planiceps	Flat-headed Cat	Endangered (2015)
Prionailurus rubiginosus	Rusty-spotted Cat	Vulnerable (2008)
Felis nigripes	Black-footed Cat	Vulnerable (2008)
Felis silvestris	Wild Cat	Least Concern (2015)
Felis margarita	Sand Cat	Near Threatened (2011)
Felis chaus	Jungle Cat	Least Concern (2008)

Source: IUCN Red List (www.iucnredlist.org). Accessed April 19, 2016.

*For extinct species, parentheses indicate date of extinction.