World’s smallest cat makes debut in West Bengal’s wild | Kolkata News


World’s smallest cat makes debut in West Bengal’s wild

KOLKATA: Bengal has recorded the first presence of the world’s smallest and lightest cat — rusty-spotted cat — in its wild.
Weighing between 0.9 and 1.6 kg, this cat species is considered near threatened on IUCN Red List.
It was photographed in one of the camera traps during an assessment of pangolin status in Purulia’s Kotshila range by city-based NGO Human and Environment Alliance League (HEAL).
“West Bengal has eight wild cat species. We have just added the ninth to this list,” said Vasudha Mishra, a researcher at HEAL.
Rusty-spotted cats are present in only three countries in the world — Sri Lanka, Nepal and India — with India providing the maximum proportion of its habitat in the world. They were previously documented in states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, UP, MP, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Kerala, among others.
This cat is the lightest in the world with a newborn kitten weighing less than a chicken egg and an adult weighing substantially less than a typical domestic cat.
According to Suvrajyoti Chatterjee, secretary, HEAL, the species was identified by Shomita Mukherjee, global expert on small cats.
“It has been documented from Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, which share the Chhotanagpur plateau eco-region with West Bengal and hence this new record is a significant contribution to the puzzle — where are rusty-spotted cats found in India,” said Tiasa Adhya, a member of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group.
It is also deemed very rare to sight in the wild, as it is a small, elusive species.
Divisional forest officer of Purulia (main), Anjan Guha, said: “Such a rare and sensitive lesser cat will only survive in a forest where it gets a favourable ecosystem. The forests here are providing an excellent habitat to the wildlife to sustain. The recent movement by tigers, presence of leopards and now this lesser cat also show that the wild food chain is being maintained in the forests here.”
According to the India State Forest Report 2023, green cover in Purulia has increased by 4 sq km since 2021.
Its much larger cousin, the leopard, had also been detected in the same forest fragments in Purulia which has led to enhanced conservation surveillance.
“Villagers residing in the forest fringes are already aware of the presence of the leopard and are being assisted with our livestock support projects to promote tolerance. The forest dept’s efficient management of these remnant forest patches has reduced unwanted disturbance. Together such initiatives will continue to support the persistence of a rich cohort of mammals like sloth bears, pangolins, small Indian civets, golden jackals, jungle cats, hyenas and wolves,” added Chatterjee.
Moist and dry deciduous forests with shrublands form their prime habitat whereas large tracts of irrigated agriculture are hypothesised to be inhospitable.





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