Rusty Spotted Cat Sighting, Nagarahole



Vishwanath M K

Chosen as 'Picture of the Week'

The Rusty-spotted Cat is the smallest wild cat species that occurs only in India and Sri Lanka. Available information relies on a few sightings across its range and the species is generally thought to be rare.

On November 4th, 2010, a friend and I were on our way through Mysore to a resort near Nagarahole. We were not expecting to see any interesting wildlife on the way, but we were amazed when we suddenly spotted this Rusty Spotted Cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus) near Karapura. We took a record image. These cats are thought to be rare, although new information suggests that they may actually be more common than assumed.

See this other post about a camera trap image of a Rusty Spotted Cat in Maharashtra.

The Rusty-spotted Cat is the smallest wild cat species that occurs only in India and Sri Lanka. Available information relies on a few sightings across its range and the species is generally thought to be rare. Based on leopard biologist Vidya Athreya‘s work in Maharashtra, rodents are abundant in agricultural landscapes allowing these cat species to take up residence even outside Protected Areas in India.

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