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A flaky - looking CT that roams the outback forests of the French island of Corsica may be a new coinage , according to local newsworthiness reports .
These felines are known to locals as " kat - foxes , " and wildlife rangers in Corsica think that they might be a new , undocumented species , accord to theAgence France - Presse(AFP ) .
A French Forest and Hunting Office employee holds up a “cat-fox” thought to be a new feline species.
These cat - foxes earn their name because of their size ( somewhat tumid than an fair domestic computed tomography ) and their tail laurel wreath — most of them have two to four mob on their keister that cease in a black crown . The African tea are about 35 inches ( 90 centimeters ) long from read/write head to tail ; they have wide ears , short hair’s-breadth and dog - like teeth , according to the AFP . [ The 10 Strangest Animal Discoveries ]
research worker at the National Hunting and Wildlife Office in Corsica have been examine these cats for over a decade . Back in 2012 , they examined pelt impart behind when the cat - foxes rubbed their body on a stick that had been coat with an attractive smell . When the researchers essay the DNA from that pelt , they find these khat - foxes were n’t relate to any known species around the world , but their DNA was standardized to that of the African forest Arabian tea ( Felis silvestris lybica ) .
Four years later , they captured the first kat - fox for examination and have since captured , examined and relinquish 12 out of 16 individuals seen on the island . The researchers placed GPS collars on some of those African tea - foxes , so they can abide by the brute ' meanderings on the island .
A French Forest and Hunting Office employee holds up a “cat-fox” thought to be a new feline species.
The research worker found the feline ’s main predator is the golden eagle ; they hypothesize that the brute might have been brought to the remote island by farmers in 6500 B.C. , allot to the AFP . But there ’s still much unknown about the cat - fox — and the research worker hope that the animal will be recognized as a raw specie and protect in the coming yr .
to begin with publish onLive Science .
