ISSN 1027-2992 CAT news N° 57 | AUTUMN 2012 02 CATnews is the newsletter of the Cat Specialist Group, a component of the Species Survival Commission SSC of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It is published twice a year, and is available to members and the Friends of the Cat Group. For joining the Friends of the Cat Group please contact Christine Breitenmoser at ch.breitenmoser@kora.ch Original contributions and short notes about wild cats are welcome Send contributions and observations to ch.breitenmoser@kora.ch. Guidelines for authors are available at www.catsg.org/catnews CATnews is produced with financial assistance from Friends of the Cat Group. Design: barbara surber, werk’sdesign gmbh Layout: Christine Breitenmoser Print: Stämpfli Publikationen AG, Bern, Switzerland ISSN 1027-2992 Editors: Christine & Urs Breitenmoser Co-chairs IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group KORA, Thunstrasse 31, 3074 Muri, Switzerland Tel ++41(31) 951 90 20 Fax ++41(31) 951 90 40 <urs.breitenmoser@ivv.unibe.ch> <ch.breitenmoser@kora.ch> Contributing Editor: Peter Jackson 7 Lake Close, London SW19 7EG United Kingdom Tel/Fax: ++44 (20) 89 47 01 59 <peterfr.jackson@virgin.net> Associate Editors: Keith Richmond Brian Bertram Sultana Bashir Javier Pereira Cover Photo: Female jaguar with two cubs in the Gran Chaco, Bolivia Photo: Daniel Alarcón, Bolivia The designation of the geographical entities in this publication, and the representation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the IUCN concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. CATnews 57 Autumn 2012 short communication ANIRUDHKUMAR VASAVA1*, C M BIPIN1, RIDHIMA SOLANKI1 AND ARTI SINGH1 Record of rusty-spotted cat from Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh, India The rusty-spotted cat Prionailurus rubiginosus is the smallest felid and is restricted in its distribution to India and Sri Lanka. Although reported to occur throughout India, information about its populations, occurrence and ecology is largely lacking. Consequently, the present distribution range of the species is to a large extent speculative and often inferred from the opportunistic sightings of this species. In this paper, we present a photographic record of this species from a human dominated area in the vicinity of Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary, India. 22 Found only in India and Sri Lanka, the rustyspotted cat has a relatively restricted distribution. Published records have confirmed its distribution over most parts of India (Khan & Mukherjee 2008). Recent records report the presence of the species from as far as the Terai in the north (Anwar 2010). It is listed as a Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972), India and is classified as “Vulnerable” by IUCN Red Data List (2008). There have been no tangible efforts to assess the population of rusty-spotted cat in India and the available effective population size of 10,000 mature individuals (Khan & Mukherjee 2008) is based on a subjective assessment. In this short communication, we report the recent sighting of this species from Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary, Central India. On 21 May 2011 at about 12:00 h, while conducting socioeconomic surveys in the villages around Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary as a part of the survey of sites for the ‘Reintroduction of cheetah in India’ project, we saw a small cat sitting inside a cavity on the trunk of a native Mahua tree Madhuca indica (Fig. 1, 2). At first, only the head, chest and upper part of the front legs were visible as the rest of body was hidden in the tree trunk cavity. As soon as we approached closer, the cat immediately pushed itself into the trunk cavity of the Mahua tree which was about 2.4 m above the ground. Although only the head was visible, the small head and forehead stripes are distinctive to the rusty-spotted cat and our photograph also provides good identification of the species. The Mahua tree was about 6-7 meter from a dirt road and a kilometer away from Badreta village (25°37’4.3” N / 77°7’13.5” E), which is on the western part of the Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary. The trunk cavity was about 40 cm in diameter and 2.4 m above the ground. The Mahua flowering season was in its peak and flowers were scattered all over the ground under the tree. The habitat was typical of the agricultural dominated landscape, dotted by Mahua trees. The summers in this region are hot and dry with an average maximum temperature of 42.3° C and May as the hottest month. The cavity could have been a resting or denning site or the cat may have gone inside Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary Kuno Wildlife Division while hunting. River Sighting Location In Central India, rusty-spotted cats have been recorded from Panna Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh (Digveerendrasinh 1995), Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan (Mukherjee 1998), Pench Fig 1. Kuno-Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary in MadTiger Reserve, Maharashtra (Gogate hya Pradesh, India, with location of observation. 1998), Melghat Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra (Wankhede 1996), Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary, Maharashtra (Patel 2010) and Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra (Dubey 1999). There has also been an earlier report of rusty-spotted cat from Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary (Dubey 1999). Here we present an additional photographic record of this species from the Kuno region. It is interesting to note that this individual was sighted inside a trunk cavity of the Mahua tree and even a recent study in Gujarat, West India, indicates that these species are also arboreal (Patel 2011). However, Patel (2011) also reports that these cats avoided the patches dominated by Mahua tree especially during the months of March to June when local communities collect the flower and fruits of Mahua tree. Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary (25° 30'-25° 53' N and 77° 07'-77° 28' E), is part of the Sheopur-Shivpuri forested landscape, classified under the Semi-arid Gujarat Rajputana (zone 4B) biogeographic zone (Rodgers et al. 2002) and comprises dry deciduous forest, consisting mainly of Anogeissus pendula, Acacia catechu and Boswellia serrata communities and their associated flora. The importance of the area for wildlife conservation can be explicable from the fact that it has been proposed as the most suitable site for the reintroduction of the Asiatic lion Panthera leo persica (Chellam et al. 1995) and very recently as one of the primary sites for the cheetah Acinonyx jubatus reintroduction in India (Ranjitsinh & Jhala 2010). Rusty-spotted cat in human modified landscape Rusty-spotted cat are reported to prefer dense vegetation and rocky areas (Khan & Mukherjee 2008). Although loss of forested habitat, increase in agriculture and other anthropogenic activities are thought to be a threat to their existence, but recent reports of this cat from agricultural dominant landscapes, disturbed habitats and even from abandoned buildings (Anonymous 1992, Nekaris 2003, Athreya 2010, Patel 2011) suggest that they are probably more adaptable than we believe. These human modified landscapes harbor a good population of rodents, which form a most important portion of the diet of this small cat and seeking such easily available prey is possibly why the rusty-spotted cat ventures near the human habitations (Athreya 2010). It is possible that this elusive species uses human dominated areas more than we are aware of and past surveys have CATnews 57 Autumn 2012 short communication been mainly restricted to within protected areas (Pathak 1990, Digveerendrasinh 1995, Wankhede 1996, Mukherjee 1998, Dubey 1999, Anwar 2010, Patel 2010). Although recent studies in western India (Patel 2006, Patel 2011) have supported to establish the semi arboreal nature of rusty-spotted cat (Khan & Mukherjee 2008), the extent of requirement for trees to hunt and rest remains to be assessed. Threats and conservation Our finding along with recent records from other sites show that the rusty-spotted cat can and does exist in human modified areas. Although we have presumed that threats such as loss of habitat, hybridization with domestic cats, hunting them for food and trade (van Gruisen & Sinclair 1992, Khan & Mukherjee 2008), persecution as pest and increased urbanization (Patel 2011) are a threat to their survival, little is known about how the above factors affect their populations. Many authors (Tehsin 1994, Digveerendrasinh 1995, Dubey 1999) report cats found dead near roads and human habitation suggesting the increased road network as a great threat. Recent studies (Patel 2010, Patel 2011) have shown some preliminary glimpse of the ecology and needs of this species. Besides these we know nothing about its ecology either inside or outside protected areas due to its elusiveness and nocturnal habits. Therefore it would need a management plan that looks intently beyond protected areas, given that large populations of such small cats survive outside protected areas (Patel 2011). Acknowledgement We are thankful to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, for funding the project ‘Reintroduction of Cheetah in India’. We thank the Director and Dean of the Wildlife Institute of India for providing necessary facilities, Madhya Pradesh Forest Department for all necessary permission and help, and Dr. M. K. Ranjitsinh, Chairman, Cheetah Task Force and Dr. Y. V. Jhala, Wildlife Institute of India for their encouragement and support. References Anonymous. 1992. Rusty spotted cats living in abandoned houses. Cat News 16, 19. Anwar M., Kumar H. & Vattakavan J. 2010. Range extension of rusty-spotted cat to the Indian Terai. Cat News 53, 25-26. Athreya V. 2010. Rusty-spotted cat more common than we think? Cat News 53, 27 CATnews 57 Autumn 2012 Fig 2. Rusty-spotted cat hiding inside the Mahua tree cavity at Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary, India. The distinct forehead stripes are clearly visible (Photo A. Vasava). Chellam R., Joshua J., Williams C. A. & Johnsingh A. J. T. 1995. Survey of Potential Sites for Reintroduction of Asiatic lions. Unpublished Report, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, India. Digveerendrasinh. 1995. Occurrence of the rusty spotted cat (Felis rubiginosa) in Madhya Pradesh. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society 92, 407-408. Dubey Y. 1999. Sighting of rusty spotted cat in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 96, 310. Gogate M.G.1998. Smaller cats of Maharashtra. In Small cats of India. Mukherjee S. (ed.). Envis Bulletin. Wildlife Institute of India. http:// www2.wii.gov.in/envis/cat/catindex.htm. Khan J. A. & Mukherjee S. 2008. Prionailurus rubiginosus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.1. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 28 October 2011. Mukherjee S. (1998). Cats: some large many small. In Small cats of India. Mukherjee S. (ed.). Envis Bulletin. Wildlife Institute of India. http:// www2.wii.gov.in/envis/cat/catindex.htm Nekaris K. A. I. 2003. Distribution and behaviour of three small wild cats in Sri Lanka. Cat News 38, 30-32. Patel K. 2006. Observations of rusty-spotted cat in eastern Gujarat. Cat News 45, 27-28. Patel K. 2010. New distribution record data for rusty-spotted cat from Central India. Cat News 53, 26-27. Patel K. 2011. Preliminary survey of small cats in Eastern Gujarat, India. Cat News 54, 8-11. Pathak B.J. 1990. Rusty-spotted cat Felis rubiginosa Geoffroy: A new record for Gir Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society 87, 445. Ranjitsinh M. K. & Jhala Y. V. 2010. Assessing the potential for reintroducing the cheetah in India. Wildlife Trust of India, Noida & Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, (TR 2010/001). Rodgers W. A., Panwar H. S. & Mathur V. B. 2002. Wildlife Protected Area Network in India: A Review (Executive summary). Wildlife Institute of India. Dehradun. Tehsin R. 1994. Rusty-spotted cat sighted near Udaipur. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society 91, 136. van Gruisen J. & Sinclair T. 1992. Fur trade in Kathmandu: implications for India. TRAFFIC India, New Delhi. Wankhede R. K.1996. Re-searching them in Melghats. Mel-Vyaghra 1, (1). 1 Department of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun-248001, India * <aniruddh.vasava@gmail.com> 23