Species comparison
Jungle Cat vs Chinese Mountain Cat
A side-by-side look at Felis chaus and Felis bieti across body measurements, habitat, diet, behaviour and conservation status.
At a glance
- The jungle cat averages about 1.2 times the body mass of the chinese mountain cat.
- Both species use grassland.
- Their ranges both include Asia.
- Red List categories differ: Jungle Cat is listed as Least Concern, Chinese Mountain Cat as Vulnerable.
Identification
How each species is named and classified.
Jungle Cat
Felis chaus
Chinese Mountain Cat
Felis bieti
Jungle Cat
Felis
Chinese Mountain Cat
Felis
Jungle Cat
Domestic cat lineage
Chinese Mountain Cat
Domestic cat lineage
Jungle Cat
Small cats
Chinese Mountain Cat
Small cats
Jungle Cat
Reed cat, Swamp cat
Chinese Mountain Cat
Chinese desert cat, Chinese steppe cat
Body and movement
Published field measurements for adults. Ranges cover both sexes unless noted.
Jungle Cat
20 in – 3 ft 1 in (50–94 cm)
Chinese Mountain Cat
24 in – 2 ft 9 in (60–85 cm) Longer
Jungle Cat
8 in – 14 in (20–36 cm)
Chinese Mountain Cat
11 in – 16 in (29–41 cm) Longer
Jungle Cat
14 in – 15 in (35–38 cm) Taller
Chinese Mountain Cat
11 in – 13 in (28–34 cm)
Jungle Cat
6.6–35 lb (3–16 kg) Heavier
Most adults fall between 4 and 8 kg; the largest records come from the north of the range.
Chinese Mountain Cat
14–20 lb (6.5–9 kg)
Based on a small number of measured animals.
Jungle Cat
Not reliably measured
Not measured in the field.
Chinese Mountain Cat
Not reliably measured
Not measured in the field.
Life span
Typical adult longevity. Figures for managed care come from zoo and sanctuary records.
Jungle Cat
10–12 years Longer
Chinese Mountain Cat
8–10 years
Jungle Cat
15–20 years Longer
Chinese Mountain Cat
10–14 years
Habitat and range
Where each species lives and the conditions it tolerates.
Jungle Cat
wetland, agricultural mosaic, grassland, dry forest
Reedbeds, marsh margins, tall grassland, riverine thickets and irrigated farmland; it avoids both rainforest and true desert.
Chinese Mountain Cat
steppe, rocky alpine, grassland
Alpine meadow, steppe and shrubland on the eastern Tibetan Plateau, generally in open country with rodent colonies rather than in true desert.
Jungle Cat
Asia, Africa
From Egypt and the Middle East through the Caucasus, Central Asia, India and Sri Lanka to southern China and mainland South East Asia.
Chinese Mountain Cat
Asia
Endemic to China, with confirmed records from Qinghai, Sichuan and Gansu provinces.
Diet and behaviour
Feeding ecology, social organisation and hunting technique.
Jungle Cat
small mammals, birds, fish, reptiles
Rodents dominate, supplemented by waterbirds, fish, frogs, snakes and hares.
Chinese Mountain Cat
small mammals, birds
Plateau pikas and zokors form the core of the diet, along with voles and ground birds.
Jungle Cat
Solitary
Solitary and territorial, though it is more visible than most small cats because it hunts in open cropland.
Chinese Mountain Cat
Solitary
Dens in burrows on grassland slopes; observations remain few, and much of the species' behaviour is still undocumented.
Jungle Cat
Crepuscular and partly diurnal
Active around dawn and dusk with substantial daytime hunting, particularly in winter and in undisturbed areas.
Chinese Mountain Cat
Nocturnal and crepuscular
Most records come from dusk and night hours, matching pika and rodent activity.
Jungle Cat
Active search in dense vegetation
Moves steadily through reeds and crops, flushing rodents and birds, and will wade into shallow water after fish and frogs.
Chinese Mountain Cat
Listening and digging at burrows
Hunts by locating rodents acoustically in open grassland and digging them out.
Jungle Cat
Capable More developed
Climbs when needed but hunts almost entirely on the ground.
Chinese Mountain Cat
Limited
A ground-dwelling cat in a largely treeless landscape.
Jungle Cat
Strong More developed
Comfortable in water, swimming across channels and hunting in shallow marsh.
Chinese Mountain Cat
Very limited
No notable association with water.
Conservation
Red List category, population direction and the pressures documented for each species.
Jungle Cat
LC — Least Concern
Assessed 2016
Chinese Mountain Cat
VU — Vulnerable
Assessed 2015
Jungle Cat
Decreasing
Chinese Mountain Cat
Decreasing
Jungle Cat
Wetland drainage, Agricultural intensification, Killing near poultry, Road mortality, Poisoning of rodent prey
Still widespread, but wetland drainage, intensified agriculture and killing near poultry have caused declines in the western part of the range, especially in Egypt and the Middle East.
Chinese Mountain Cat
Poisoning campaigns against plateau pikas, Hybridisation with domestic cats, Grassland degradation, Killing by herding dogs, Very small known range
A small range and dependence on plateau pikas make this cat vulnerable to large-scale rodent poisoning programmes. Interbreeding with free-ranging domestic cats has also been documented.
Notable traits
Details that do not fit neatly into a measurement table.
Jungle Cat
- Mummified jungle cats have been recovered from ancient Egyptian tombs.
- It is the largest species in the genus that also contains the domestic cat.
- Kittens show faint stripes that fade almost completely in adults.
Chinese Mountain Cat
- The first photographs of a wild individual were obtained only in 2007.
- Genetic work has confirmed hybridisation with village cats on the plateau.
- Its dense coat and heavily furred ears are adaptations to sustained sub-freezing temperatures.
Sources used for this comparison
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Global assessment categories, population trends and documented threats.
- IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group Species accounts, distribution notes and Cat News reporting for every wild felid.
- Small Wild Cat Conservation Foundation Dedicated research and field reporting on the lesser-known felids.
- Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Reviewed species accounts with morphometric ranges and reproductive data.
- National Geographic — Animals General natural-history reference for behaviour, range and ecology.
- Wildlife Conservation Society Field programmes, camera-trap surveys and population monitoring.