RUSTY SPOTTED CAT FACTFILE

NAME Rusty Spotted Cat

SCIENTIFIC NAME Prionailurus rubiginosus GEOGRAPHIC RANGE India and Sri Lanka.

HABITAT Dry forest, bamboo forest, wooded grassland, arid scrubland and rocky hill slopes LIFESPAN Up to 12 years in captivity, less in the wild.

WEIGHT 0.8– 1.6kg

DIET Rodents, small birds, frogs, insects and small reptiles.

WILD POPULATION Approx. 10,000 individuals.

IUCN RED LIST STATUS

At risk of becoming extinct in the wild. GENERAL DESCRIPTION The Rusty-spotted cat competes with the Black-footed cat as the world’s smallest wild cat species. They have beautiful rusted brown coats with a white under-belly, marked with rusty brown spots. Rusty-spotted cats are a nocturnal species and have large eyes, lined with white markings, to help them see better in the dark. They are a semi-arboreal wild cat and will hunt both in the trees and on the ground. Although these are a small species, they have a reputation for being fierce, and will take prey species much larger than them. A 19th century naturalist was one of the first scientists to study a captive Rusty-spotted cat. When this cat was introduced to a gazelle, it immediately attached itself to the nape of the neck, and had to be removed by the naturalist as it would not let go! It was thought for a long time that Rusty-spotted cats were found only in warm forest habitats, however recent records have shown the cats to be found in a variety of habitat types and discovered as far north as Nepal.

RUSTY SPOTTED CAT RANGE

THREATS

• Habitat destruction– deforestation of primary habitat is likely to have an affect on population size. Exact population estimates are difficult to attain due to their small size and secretive behaviour. Areas of forest are cleared for development and agriculture, and in some places Rusty- spotted cats have been found to survive in more cultivated habitat types.

• Human– wildlife conflict– with urbanisation, some Rusty-spotted cats have adapted to live in abandoned buildings. Where these cats live close to human populations, they will prey upon domestic fowl, and are sadly then trapped and killed by farmers.

• Illegal pet trade– Rusty– spotted cats are small and cute, therefore targeted for the illegal pet trade. In many developed countries you must obtain a licence to own a wild cat, however this is not the case for the majority of the world, and wild cats, like the Rusty– spotted cat, are reasonably easy to purchase. Sadly it is likely that some of these wild cats are trapped directly from wild populations.