Cats and their coats

The ocelot, Leopardus pardalis , is twice as big as a housecat and has a spectacular, irregularly dappled coat Photograph: Frans Lanting/Corbis Largely nocturnal, ocelots live in South American rainforests and hunt for reptiles, fish, frogs, rodents and birds Photograph: Ed George/NG/Getty Images The clouded leopard, Neofelis nebulosa , is named after the cloud-like spots that provide camouflage in its forest habitat. Primarily found in the tropical rainforests of South-East Asia, the clouded leopard is a night hunter and preys on birds, squirrels, monkeys and deer Photograph: Dhritiman Mukherjee / Alamy/Alamy This rare sighting of a clouded leopard, which spends most of its time in trees, was captured on camera by researchers in Kercini Seblat National Park in Sumatra Photograph: Wai-Ming Wong/Chester Zoo The Pallas’ cat, Otocolobus manul , is found in the steppe, desert and rocky mountain regions of central Asia, where it hunts small rodents at dusk and dawn Photograph: Gerard Lacz/Rex Features The Pallas' cat has plain, thick sandy grey or russet-red fur to match its open surroundings and nocturnal habits Photograph: Terry Whittaker/Alamy The Andean mountain cat, Leopardus jacobita , has a silver-grey coat with dark spots and stripes that match its open, mountainous habitats in Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. It hunts on the ground and preys on large rodents, such as mountain chinchillas Photograph: Aminet The marbled cat, Pardofelis marmorata , has large, dark blotches on its fur. It lives in the jungles of South-East Asia and hunts among the trees at night Photograph: Terry Whittaker/Alamy The margay, Leopardus wiedii , is the size of a house cat and spends more time in the trees than on the ground. Its fur is patterned with bold, black markings that are effective camouflage in the forests of South America Photograph: Kevin Schafer/Corbis The margay lives and hunts in the trees at night Photograph: Kevin Schafer/Corbis