NEXT UP, #6 seed WILDCAT (Felis silvestris silvestris) vs. #11 seed HIGHLAND STREAKED TENREC (Hemicentetes nigriceps) #2023MMM 
Tenrecs are small mammals endemic to Madagascar that range greatly in shape & size - some look like hedgehogs, others like shrews, others still like opossums or rodents #2023MMM
Highland Streaked Tenrec is #TinyButMighty: it weighs 160g (3/4 of a stoat), is covered with a mix of hairs & spines, and has 3 distinctive white stripes along its back #StoatsAsMeasurement #2023MMM
Don't confuse our better-seeded competitor with your domesticated kitty - Wildcat is a big boi (6.5kg / 14lbs / 30 stoats) & sports stripes along it's whole body #StoatsAsMeasurement #TeamCat #2023MMM
Wildcats are found on 3 continents and are divided into multiple subspecies. Tonight, we're dealing with a roguish feline from the woodland lineage of Scotland that is on the brink of extinction news.mongabay.com/2022/06/scotla… #2023MMM
Tonight's Battle takes place in the home habitat of Wildcat in the wooded Highlands of Northern Scotland. #2023MMM
Highland Streaked Tenrec lives in humid forests at high elevations, so it feels at home in these damp forests. Tenrec starts foraging, stirring the leaf litter and soft ground for earthworms (Silcox & Teaford, 2002) academic.oup.com/jmammal/articl… #SlimyYetSatisfying #2023MM
Suddenly, Tenrec stops digging with its enlarged forelimbs. From head to rump, it raises its spines and starts a "buzzing" vocalization- classic tenrec defensive maneuvers science.smith.edu/departments/bi… (Marshall & Eisenberg, 1996) #2023MMM
Wildcat has been watching this strange looking mouse (or maybe it's a shrew?) through the leafy undergrowth and debates its next move... #2023MMM
Wildcat adjusts itself, centering its body over its feet, and waits, not daring to blink... #2023MMM
Spines still raised, Tenrec moves its head in short bursts, trying to locate the nearby threat ... #2023MMM
Silently, Wildcat slinks one step forward, leaving a forepaw raised, eyes concentrated on the Tenrec ... #2023MMM
CRUNCH! THRASH! HISSSSS! REEEEEOOOOOW!! #2023MMM
An equally-size, big boi domesticated but feral cat jumps into the scene! A cat tussle ensues!! #2023MMM
Domesticated cats are one of the biggest threats to Scottish Wildcats due to direct competition for space & food in addition to disease transmission & hybridization cambridge.org/core/journals/… (Kilshaw et al. 2014) #2023MMM
Tenrec watches as the two cats tumble apart, one felid fleeing, one felid chasing into the forest... FELIDS ARE OFF THE FIELD OF BATTLE! #2023MMM
TENREC OUTLASTS WILDCAT!! #2023MMM #UPSETCITY
Their BOTH highlanders...? #AskingForAFriend #2023MMM
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