ISSN 1027-2992 CATnewsN° 70 | Autumn 2019 02 CATnews is the newsletter of the Cat Specialist Group, Editors: Christine & Urs Breitenmoser a component of the Species Survival Commission SSC of the Co�chairs IUCN/SSC International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It is pu���� Cat Specialist Group lished twice a year, and is availa�le to mem�ers and the Friends of KORA, Thunstrasse 31, 3074 Muri, the Cat Group. Switzerland Tel ++41(31) 951 90 20 For joining the Friends of the Cat Group please contact Fax ++41(31) 951 90 40 Christine Breitenmoser at [email protected] <urs.�[email protected]�e.ch> <ch.�[email protected]> Original contri�utions and short notes a�out wild cats are welcome Send contributions and observations to Associate Editors: Keith Richmond [email protected]. Brian Bertram Maximilian Allen Guidelines for authors are availa�le at www.catsg.org/catnews Juan Reppucci CATnews is produced with financial assistance from the Friends of the Cat Group. Design: �ar�ara sur�er, werk’sdesign gm�h Layout: Ta�ea Lanz und Christine Breitenmoser Cover Photo: Jaguars feeding on anaconda Print: Stämpfli Pu�likationen AG, Bern, Switzerland Rio Três Irmãos, Brazil Photo Michel C. Zoghzoghi ISSN 1027-2992 © IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group instagram: @mz_images The designation of the geographical entities in this pu�lication, and the representation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the IUCN concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or �oundaries. CATnews 70 Autumn 2019 original contribution hya Pradesh, Forest Department for providing ne� Ramesh K., Johnson A. J., Sen S., Murthy R. S. et al. cessary permissions to carry out the study. 2013. Status of tiger and prey species in Panna Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India. Technical References Report, Wildlife Institute of India, Panna Tiger Kitchener A. C., Breitenmoser�Wursten Ch., Eizirik Reserve and National Tiger Conservation Autho� E., Gentry A. et al. 2017. A revised taxonomy of rity. 39 pp. the Felidae. The final report of the Cat Classifica� Rather T. A., Sharad Kumar., Shaizah Tajdar., Raman tion Task Force of the IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist K. S. & Jamal A. K. 2017. First photographic re� Group. Cat News Special Issue 11, 80 pp. cord of Asiatic wildcat in Bandhavgarh TR, India. Menon V. 2014. Indian Mammals: A Field Guide. Ha� Cat News 65, 35. Fig. 2. Camera trap image of the Asiatic chette Book Pu�lishing India Pvt. Ltd, Gurgaon, Yamaguchi N., Kitchener A., Driscoll C. & Nuss� wildcat in the study area, 3 March 2018 India. 248 pp. �erger B. 2015. Felis silvestris. The IUCN Red (Photo The Corbett Foundation). Mukherjee S. 1998. Cats some large, many small. In List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T603547 ENVIS (Wildlife and Protected Areas), Mukherjee 12A50652361. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/ and �ehavioural studies on co�occurring popu� S. (Ed.). Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, In� IUCN.UK.2015�2.RLTS.T60354712A50652361. lations of domestic cats and wildcats. dia, pp. 5–13. en Pande A., Vasava A., Solanki R., Bipin C. M. & Jhala Acknowledgements Y. V. 2013. Photographic recrods of the Asiatic 1 The Corbett Foundation We are thankful to the Jet Privilege Pvt. Ltd. (JPPL) Wildcat from two states of India. Journal of 2 Department of Wildlife Sciences, Aligarh Muslim for funding the study. Our due thanks to the Mad� Threatened Taxa 5, 5283–5287. University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, 202002 YADAV GHIMIREY1*, JYOTENDRA JYU THAKURI2, RAJU ACHARYA1, BIDHAN ADHIKARY1, RIN- trade market survey in Kathmandu. The mar� ZIN PHUNJOK LAMA3, TASHI RAPTE GHALE3, MADHU NEPAL4, CHUNGBA SHERPA5 AND KA- ket survey reported a total of 30 long coats and RAN BAHADUR SHAH6 44 short jackets made from different cat pelts, 22 including Asiatic wild cat, �ut no mention was Possible records of the Asiatic made a�out the origin of the products. There is a possi�ility that the tanned pelts made their wildcat in Nepal way to Nepal via India where the species is known to occur (Prater 1971), �ut there is also An individual of cat species having phenotypic appearance of an Asiatic wildcat a faint possi�ility that some raw pelts might Felis lybica ornata was photographed in Tanahun district during a bird survey on 3 �e from Nepal, which unfortunately cannot March 2019 at 14:30 h. The typical features of the Asiatic wildcat were clearly visi- �e confirmed now. Further investigation could ble, i.e. a spotted coat, horizontal bands on upper part of the leg, medium tail with have provided more information on the origin rings towards the tip and relatively large head. The nearest known population of of those pelts and perhaps provided a clearer this felid was reported from Madhya Pradesh in central India, nearly 500 km away. picture of the species' existence in Nepal. Other records of the suspected species, including photographs, were also obtained There were no follow�up studies to record the in 2013 and 2015 near Kathmandu and in the north-western part of the country, close presence of Asiatic wildcat pelts in the illegal to the Ngari region of Western Tibet. Our records provide important evidence for the wildlife market in Kathmandu. Also there have possible occurrence of the Asiatic wildcat in Nepal, and form the basis for a more �een no reports of the species from anywhere detailed survey to assess its national status and distribution. inside the country from that time. Here we present photographic and o�servation records The Asiatic wildcat was previously thought to ty of discovering medium�sized mammals in of possi�le Asiatic wildcats from five different �e a su�species of Felis silvestris. However areas that have �een less frequently visited localities in Nepal. a recent taxonomic study has revealed that �y �iologists. wildcats in Africa and Asia are now recog� Nepal has no historical records of Asiatic Possible Asiatic wildcat records in Nepal nised as Felis lybica (Kitchener et al. 2017), wildcat. However there have �een some long With no confirmed records of the species in with Asiatic wildcats classified as a su�spe� unconfirmed reports of the species existing in the country many sightings of the species cies, Felis lybica ornata. Twelve species of cat the country. Also, pelts of this species were may have �een ignored previously. However, occur in Nepal �ased on current knowledge. commonly seen in the illegal market of wild� a recent photograph of a living cat can �e Two species, i.e. Pallas' cat Otocolobus ma- life furs in Kathmandu during the 1980s and identified morphologically as an Asiatic wild nul and rusty�spotted cat Prionailurus rubigi- 1990s. A fur market survey in 1988 revealed cat, therefore we present here together with nosus are the latest additions to the list of fe� the presence of the Asiatic wildcat without this o�servation additionally some records lid species occurring in the country (Shrestha providing any details on the num�er of items of similar looking specimens till date. Fig. 1 et al. 2014, Lamichhane et al. 2016). These (Barnes 1989). WWF India (1992) also reported provides all known sighting locations of these records suggest that there is still a possi�ili� availa�ility of the species' pelt during a fur o�servations in Nepal. CATnews 70 Autumn 2019 possible records of the Asiatic wildcat in Nepal Record 1 The most recent o�servation of a cat species having phenotypic appearance of an Asia� tic wildcat was made on 3 March 2019 at Kaphaldanda, Tanahun District (Supporting Online Material Figure SOM F1). Kaphaldan� da is located on a dirt road two hours’ drive away from the Prithvi Highway on the way to Chimkeshwori Temple. The precise location is at 27°51’40.59° N / 84°30’58.9788’’ E at an altitude of 1,281 m. It is around 80 km straight� line distance from Kathmandu and 40 km from Chitwan National Park in the south. The cat was first seen at around 14:30 h while Jyotendra Jyu Thakuri JT was quietly waiting for a Nepalese endemic �ird species, the spiny �a��ler Turdoides nipalensis to emerge from �ushes near�y. The cat was 50 m east from JT, walking along the dirt road. JT started to track it slowly and it went �elow the road and Fig. 1. Location of the five sightings of Asiatic wildcat looking individuals in Nepal bet- inside a near�y �ush. JT approached the �ush, ween 2013–2019. �ut the cat was not seen there. After a cou� ple of minutes, the same cat again appeared una�le to conclude whether that was even middle of the �ustling Kathmandu metropo� approximately 50 m further along the same morphologically close to an Asiatic wildcat lis, this isolated patch of forest is only 2 km road walking in the same direction. JT took during that time. away from Nagarjuna forest, a 14 km2 patch some pictures of the cat while it was on the of forest which is a part of Shivapuri�Nagar� view. However, it was more alert than �efore Record 3 juna National Park (SOM F2). The Rani�ari and started walking faster and vanished after A camera trapping survey of wildlife in Humla community forest is separated from Nagrjuna 23 the near�y �end. The nearest settlement was district in 2013 conducted �y a team consist� forest �y dense settlements, farmlands and an a�andoned cattle shed a�out 100 m west ing Raju Acharya, Yadav Ghimirey and Bidhan road networks.