Principal Threats The Iriomote cat is endangered primarily because it is restricted to a single population, albeit located on the least developed island in Japan. That situation is changing rapidly, however, as island residents press for accelerated economic growth. Iriomote is promoted as a tourist location, with the Iriomote cat a major source of appeal. The industry is still nascent, but plans are being laid for major resort development, along with a dam to provide the eight projected hotels with a stable supply of water (Anon. 1992a). A major airport is being constructed on nearby Ishigaki island (20 km away) to provide a direct link to Tokyo. While poorly planned tourist infrastructure may damage the cat’s habitat, by far the major threat at present is agricultural and cattle-raising projects, which are heavily subsidized by the government (Barber et al. 1984, Anon. 1992a) and involve forest clearance. Conservationists’ opposition to the Ministry of Agriculture’s projects and their calls for legal protection of lowland habitat have further increased the local residents’ impression that the Iriomote cat is an obstruction to economic development. Other important threats include road kills, competition from a growing population of feral cats, and the risk of disease transmission from these and other imported mammals (Izawa et al. 1991, M. Izawa in litt. 1993).

© 1996 IUCN - The World Conservation Union