Rare cat species spotted at Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve

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The rusty spotted cat or selis rubiginosa, a rare cat species, was recently spotted at the world famous Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve in Nainital district near here.

The rare elusive cat was photographed by a research team of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) at a camera trap station recently near the well-known Morghati Forest Rest House within the reserve, said Bijendra Singh, honorary wildlife warden of the Park.

"The rusty spotted cat is a highly endangered cat species which has been accorded the highest statutory protection under schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, besides appendix I of the CITES," he said.

The species is a little smaller than the domestic cat with a rufescent or fawn grey coat. It is targeted by professional track hunters for its valuable fur.

This cat is endemic to India and Sri Lanka, and has been reported mainly in the Western Ghats, besides possibly in some pockets of Jammu and Central India.

During the 2010 country-level estimation of tigers and co-predators, the presence of the rusty spotted cat has also been reported in the Western areas of Pilibhit.