Swamp Cat (Felis chaus)

Swamp Cat

Scientific name: Felis chaus chaus / Felis chaus

Field note:
The Swamp Cat is rare in Lebanon. It appears only in a few wet habitats and depends on small marsh areas that continue to decline. Observations are scarce and spaced over long periods, which makes its presence fragile and sensitive to change.

Conservation status and assessment year:
Least Concern (LC) with a decreasing trend. Global assessment 2016. Its presence in Lebanon is limited and rare.

Habitat and distribution:
The Swamp Cat lives in wetlands, marshes, riverbanks, reedbeds, and tall grass. In Lebanon it occurs in a small number of wetland sites. Its broader range extends from the Eastern Mediterranean and the Caucasus to Central, South, and Southeast Asia.

Diet:
Birds, small mammals, rodents, amphibians, reptiles such as snakes.

Ecological role:
It regulates birds and rodents in wet habitats and supports stable prey dynamics in marsh ecosystems.

Threats:
The species faces wetland drainage, marsh and reedbed degradation, urban expansion near waterways, hunting and trapping, indirect poisoning during rodent control, and habitat fragmentation that isolates small groups.

Subspecies of Felis chaus:
Felis chaus chaus occurs in the Caucasus, Turkmenistan, Iran, Baluchistan, Yarkand, East Turkestan, Palestine, southern Syria, Iraq, and Egypt.
Felis chaus furax occurs in northern Afghanistan and areas south of the Amu Darya River.
Felis chaus nilotica occurs in the Nile Valley.
Felis chaus maimanah occurs in the Maimana region of northern Afghanistan.
Felis chaus oxiana occurs along the right tributaries of the Amu Darya River, in the lower Vakhsh River, and east toward the Gissar Valley and areas slightly beyond Dushanbe.