Status of Small Cats in Tiger Landscape of India Report
( UPSC Prelims)
News Context
A report from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) offers a detailed evaluation of the occupancy status and dynamics of small cats.
About Small Cats
A diverse group of hyper carnivores within the subfamily Felinae is distributed across various terrestrial biomes. In India, there are 10 small cat species: Pallas’s cat, Eurasian lynx, jungle cat, fishing cat, leopard cat, rusty-spotted cat, marbled cat, Asiatic golden cat, desert cat, and caracal. The jungle cat is the most widespread among these small cat species, followed by the rusty-spotted cat, which is the world’s smallest wildcat. Unlike big cats such as tigers and lions, which have a flexible hyoid bone that enables them to roar, small cats have a rigid hyoid bone that allows them to purr continuously.
Major Samall Cats in India
Asiatic Golden Cat:
Habitat: Native to the Indo-Malayan eco-realm, including regions such as Assam, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and West Bengal.
Characteristics: Known for being territorial and solitary, though they may occasionally form pairs.
Caracal:
Habitat: Found in arid and semi-arid regions, with sightings in only three Indian states: Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh.
Characteristics: Also referred to as Siya Gosh due to their black-tufted ears; they are solitary, territorial, and nocturnal.
Fishing Cat:
Habitat: Inhabits wetland environments, including the Sundarbans, Himalayan foothills, and parts of Northeast India.
Characteristics: Nocturnal with webbed hind feet that aid in movement through shallow water.
Eurasian Lynx:
Habitat: Resides in the barren, relatively open, rocky mountainous plateau of Central Asia, with some presence in Ladakh, India.
Characteristics: Primarily solitary, territorial, and nocturnal.