The African Wildcat (Felis lybica) is a species of wild cat that lives across the African continent. It is the ancestor of the domestic cat and was first domesticated about 10,000 years ago in the Near East of Africa.
The African wildcat occurs across Africa, around the periphery of the Arabian Peninsula, and in the Middle East as far eastward as the Caspian Sea. It inhabits a broad variety of habitats, especially in hilly and mountainous landscapes such as the Hoggar Mountains. In deserts such as the Sahara, it occurs at much lower densities. It ranges across the area north of the Sahara from Morocco to Egypt and inhabits the tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands south of the Sahara from Mauritania to the Horn of Africa, including Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Sudan. Farther south, it is present in all East and Southern African countries.
The African wildcat's fur is light sandy grey, and sometimes with a pale yellow or reddish hue, but almost whitish on the belly and on the throat. The ears have small tufts, are reddish to grey. The stripes around the face are dark ochre to black: two run horizontally on the cheek from the outer corner of the eye to the jaw, a smaller one from the inner corner of the eye to the rhinarium, and four to six across the throat. Two dark rings encircle the forelegs, and hind legs are striped. A dark stripe runs along the back, the flanks are lighter. Pale vertical stripes on the sides often dissolve into spots. Its tail has two to three rings towards the end with a black tip. Its feet are dark brown to black below.
African wildcats are active mainly by night and search for prey. Their hearing is so fine that they can locate prey precisely. They approach prey by patiently crawling forward and using vegetation to hide. The African wildcat preys on rats, mice, gerbils, hares, small to medium-sized birds (including francolins), fish, insects, and lizards. It is also a scavenger. In Southern Africa, it even attacks antelope fawns and domestic stock, such as lambs and kids. They rarely drink water.