UP home to four small wild cat species: Report
These details emerged from "Status of Small Cats in Tiger Landscapes of India," published by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) on July 29, International Tiger Day.
It is the first such estimation of small wild cats in India.
Of India's 10 small cat species, the report analyses nine varieties, including caracals, jungle cats, rusty-spotted cats, fishing cats, leopard cats, marbled cats, clouded leopards, desert cats, and Asiatic golden cats within tiger-inhabited states.
Assam and West Bengal reported a maximum of six of these species each while five were recorded in Arunachal Pradesh. UP has four of them: jungle cat, fishing cat, leopard cat, and rusty-spotted cat.
The report is based on camera trap data from the national tiger estimation done between 2018 and 2022. The jungle cat emerged as the most widespread while marbled cat, clouded leopard and Asiatic golden cat are rare and elusive.
While jungle cats occupied over 96,275 sq km across diverse habitats, rusty-spotted cats occupied 70,075 sq km, having the second-highest occupancy. Leopard cats occupied the third biggest area, over 32,800 sq km.
UP recorded all three widespread species, along with the fourth one, the fishing cat, which occupied a smaller area of over 7,575 sq km.
Dudhwa Tiger Reserve has been selected for implementing a conservation programme for small wild cats by the MoEF in a first such initiative.
India's small wild cats are listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Nevertheless, they are threatened due to habitat loss, man-wildlife conflict, hunting, poaching, climate change, prey base depletion, and road kills among other factors.
The threat may be more severe for fishing cats and clouded leopards because they require specific types of habitats. Similarly, estimates showed that only 10 to 15 caracals may be present in the Kutch region of Gujarat and less than 50 in Rajasthan.
Because these cats live close to human habitations, they face biotic pressure and conflict with humans.
"Hybridisation with domestic cats is a growing concern, as interbreeding dilutes the genetic purity of its wild traits," said the report.
"Clouded leopard is an extremely common species involved in the illegal wildlife trade," said the report.
These cats are solitary, shy, elusive, crepuscular (active during twilight), and nocturnal hunters. Some species, like caracals, are also territorial in nature.
The single most fundamental difference between big cats and small cats, as highlighted in the report, is their 'vocal anatomy', specifically the structure of the hyoid bone in their throat.
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