The Rusty-spotted Cat Prionailurus rubiginosus (I. Geoffroy Saint-Hillaire, 1831) (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) in Rajasthan, India – a compilation of two decades

Abstract

In Rajasthan, the presence of the Rusty-spotted Cat Prionailurus rubiginosus was first reported in 1994 in Udaipur District, the southernmost district of Rajasthan. Since then, it was also recorded in four more districts scattered over an area of about 86,205km2. We compiled information about the occurrence of the Rusty-spotted Cat in Rajasthan based on direct sightings, road kills, rescued kittens, and camera trap images. Our data set shows that the Rusty-spotted Cat is also present in eight more districts of Rajasthan that form part of the Aravalli Hills and Vindhyan Hills in the semi-arid zone of eastern Rajasthan. The area encompassed by these records amounts to 71,586km2. Kittens were rescued in six instances. Adult cats were recorded in 45 instances including 41 live cats and four roadkills. Ten adult live Rusty-spotted Cats were sighted in the mornings, and 31 were recorded after dark between late evenings and early mornings. They were recorded in eight habitat types including foremost thorny and dry deciduous forests, but also ravines and agricultural fields adjacent to forests, and in forest patches in the vicinity of human settlements. The preservation of forests is of utmost importance for the long-term viability of the Rusty-spotted Cat. We strongly recommend surveys outside protected areas to determine the connectivity between Rusty-spotted Cat population units in Rajasthan.

Photographic record of the Rusty-spotted Cat Prionailurus rubiginosus (I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1831) (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) in southern Western Ghats, India

“…Since the Rusty-spotted Cat was recorded only once during the entire study period, we assume that it is rare in our study area. Our record of the Rusty-spotted Cat is consistent with its habitat use documented in eastern Gujarat (Patel 2006) (Basak et al 2018), Anaikatty Reserve Forest in Tamil Nadu (Mukherjee & Koparde 2014), and in the Aravalli Hills in Rajasthan (Sharma & Dhakad 2020;Singh & Kariyappa 2020). Elsewhere in India, it was also recorded in dry thorn forest, scrub forest, moist deciduous forest, semi-evergreen hill forest and sugarcane fields (Anwar et al 2012;Kalle et al 2013;Aditya & Ganesh 2016;Ghaskadbi et al 2016;Bora et al 2020;Chatterjee et al 2020;Deshmukh et al 2020;Sharma & Dhakad 2020;Silva et al 2020).…”

“…The Rusty-spotted Cat population is thought to decline by 20-25 % over the next three generations, primarily due to predicted habitat loss in central India (Mukherjee et al 2016). The population is likely to be stable in protected areas; outside protected areas, it is threatened by diseases and road accidents (Mukherjee et al 2016;Sharma & Dhakad 2020).…”

Diet of Rusty-spotted Cat Prionailurus rubiginosus (I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1831) (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) in Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai, India

“…It is the smallest member of the cat family, weighing 2 kg on average (Pocock 1939;Nowell & Jackson 1996;Sunquist & Sunquist 2002). Based on preliminary information on habitat requirements, a population decline of up to 25% is predicted in the next decade, largely due to habitat loss associated with large-scale expansion of agriculture, development and urbanisation (Mukherjee et al 2016a;Sharma & Dhakad 2020). Some observations on the cat suggest that it largely feeds on small mammals (Patel 2006;Athreya 2010;Langle 2019).…”