3/3 🏔️Females at higher elevation gave birth later, but elevation and latitude effects could not be disentangled. 🎯 The study improves our understanding of wildcat population dynamics and can inform wildcat-specific conservation actions. Find out more in the paper! @iviei.bsky.social

🐱 Largest litter size recorded was 6 kittens, but survey method matters! Field observations and postmortem evaluations were the most reliable. 🌿 Average litter size was not affected by environmental conditions 🐾 Long reproductive season

3/4 They live in colonies, often basking together on sun-warmed rocks. And while they may look relaxed, they keep a close eye out for predators such as eagles, leopards and snakes.

2/4 Rock hyraxes are perfectly adapted to rocky habitats. Their feet have specialised, rubbery pads that help them grip steep surfaces—and they can even produce a little “suction-cup” effect with the help of sweat glands on their soles. 🧗

1/4 🪨🐾 Mammal Monday: Meet the Rock Hyrax! Despite their small, rodent-like appearance, rock hyraxes or dassies (𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴) are more closely related to elephants and sirenians than to rodents. 🧪 🦊 🦤 🌍 © Felix Kaufmann

3/3 They are highly vocal, using a variety of calls to communicate — including the characteristic jackal howl. Their adaptability allows them to live in a wide range of habitats, from savannas and open woodlands to semi-arid landscapes. A small carnivore with a big ecological role!

2/3 But this jackal is more than just a striking coat! 🐾 It is an opportunistic omnivore, feeding on everything from small mammals and birds to insects, fruit and carrion. Black-backed jackals form monogamous pairs, often defending a territory together.

1/3 Mammal Monday: the Black-backed Jackal! The Black-backed Jackal (𝘓𝘶𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘴 ) is one of Africa’s most adaptable small carnivores. Its name comes from the distinctive dark “saddle” of fur running along its back, contrasting sharply with its brown flanks. 🧪🦊🦤🌍 Photo:©Ulla Lächele

(2/2) By combining genetic analyses, low-invasive age estimation and four years of group monitoring, Bergaliev et al. investigated kinship and mating patterns in this highly social, cooperatively breeding subterranean rodent. Photo: © A.V. Smorkatcheva

4/5 Its existence had gone unnoticed partly because tiger cats can be difficult to distinguish. Here museum collections become so important: old bones and skins can preserve genomic information that helps us reconstruct biodiversity that we could not fully understand from living animals alone.

3/5 The results suggest that the tiger-cat complex (𝘓𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘶𝘴) comprises five distinct species, including the newly described 𝘓. 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘤𝘢𝘺𝘰. The discovery is particularly remarkable because L. tilcayo is described as the first entirely new living cat species formally described in more than a century.

2/5 The new species was discovered by a team led by Eduardo Eizirik one of our keynote speakers from the Annual Meeting 2026. They used phylogenomics and museomics to analyse genomes from living tiger cats together with DNA recovered from historical museum specimens.

1/5 🐾 Mammal Monday: A new cat species has been hiding in plain sight! Meet 𝘓𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘤𝘢𝘺𝘰 , a newly described small wild cat from the cloud forests of Bolivia’s Yungas. At only around 1.5–2 kg, it is about the size of a domestic cat. 🧪 🦊 🦤 🌍 Photo: © Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz.

📣 Why do marmots whistle? That famous high-pitched whistle is actually an alarm call. When a marmot spots a potential predator, it can warn its colony mates. Different calls can convey information about the level or type of danger.