Study on Species Identification Error Caused by Comparing Feces Appearance of Felis catus and Prionailurus bengalensis in the Ecosystems

This study is designed according to the fact that the feces presumed to be from a Prionailurus bengalensis was found in Ulleungdo Island, where Prionailurus bengalensis is not known to inhabit, and that visual observation of the feces may cause errors in species identification. The feces observed in Ulleungdo Island on October 21, 2019 and August 29, 2020, in Gyeongju on December 4, 2020, and in Jecheon on December 7, 2020 was found intactly on grass, not buried in the ground. Although it was difficult to distinguish and identify the feces of Felis catus and Prionailurus bengalensis with visual observation, the feces collected from Ulleungdo Island was closely related to the Felis catus according to the genetic analysis whereas the ones collected from Gyeongju and Jecheon was identified from Prionailurus bengalensis. Therefore through the gene analysis, this study proved that visual observation of feces with similar appearance, specifically the feces found in Ulleungdo Island, Gyeongju, and Jecheon, may cause errors in species identification. It is judged to be necessary to analyze fields signs and genes for the species identification when using the feces of Felis catus and Prionailurus bengalensis.