Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 June 2021 | 13(7): 18933–18935
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7013.13.7.18933-18935
#7013 | Received 20 December 2020 | Final
received 27 April 2021 | Finally accepted 25 May 2021
Photographic record of the
Rusty-spotted Cat Prionailurus rubiginosus (I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1831) (Mammalia:
Carnivora: Felidae) in southern Western Ghats, India
Devika Sanghamithra
1 & P.O. Nameer 2
1,2 Centre for Wildlife Studies,
College of Forestry, Kerala Agricultural University, Vellanikkara,
Thrissur, Kerala 680656, India.
1 devikasanghamithra@gmail.com, 2
nameer.po@kau.in (corresponding author)
Editor: Angie Appel, Wild Cat Network, Bad
Marienberg, Germany. Date
of publication: 26 June 2021 (online & print)
Citation: Sanghamithra,
D. & P.O. Nameer (2021). Photographic record of the
Rusty-spotted Cat Prionailurus rubiginosus (I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1831)
(Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) in southern Western Ghats, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 13(7): 18933–18935. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7013.13.7.18933-18935
Copyright: © Sanghamithra
& Nameer 2021. Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and
distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the
author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: Kerala Agricultural University.
Competing interests: The author
declares no competing interests. The views expressed are those of
the author.
Acknowledgements: We thank the principal chief
conservator of forests and chief wildlife warden, Kerala Forest Department for
granting the permission to conduct the study in the forests of Kerala
(WL10-62639/2017 dated 01-08-2018). We
thank the divisional forest officer, Palakkad Forest Division, the range forest
officer and other staff of Walayar Forest range for
logistics and support. We extend our
gratitude to Sachin K. Aravind and Sachin Krishna M.V. for their support in the
field. We thank the dean, College of
Forestry, Kerala Agricultural University for the encouragement and support. The Kerala Agricultural University provided
the financial assistance for the study.
The INSPIRE senior research fellowship from Department of Science and
Technology, Government of India received by the first author (IF160753) is
gratefully acknowledged. We are also
grateful to three anonymous reviewers and the subject editor for their critical
comments.
A Rusty-spotted Cat Prionailurus rubiginosus
was photographed (Images 1,2) on 8 December 2018 in a dry deciduous forest in Walayar Reserve Forest, Palakkad district in the state of
Kerala (Figure 1) during a survey on small carnivores. Camera traps with passive infra-red sensors
and motion detectors were used for the study that lasted from 4 December 2018
to 10 January 2019. A total of 31 camera
trap stations (Figure 1) were identified based on indirect evidence of small
carnivores. The camera traps were
installed at a height of 30cm from the ground and with a distance of at least
250m between two stations. They were
kept active for 24 hours for 38 days with a total effort of 1,178 camera trap
days.
The Walayar
Reserve Forest extends over 125.65km2, of which 30km2 is
dry deciduous habitat that we surveyed only.
The major tree species in this dry deciduous patch include Anogeissus latifolia, Alangium salvifolium, Careya arborea, Tectona grandis, Buchanania axillaris, Garuga pinnata, Cassia fistula, Strebulus asper, Holarhena pubescens, and Clerodendrum
infortunatum.
The other mammal species recorded
by the camera traps during the study were Bonnet Macaque Macaca
radiata, Tufted Grey Langur Semnopithecus
priam, Asian Elephant Elephas maximus,
Mouse Deer Moschiola indica,
Barking Deer Muntiacus muntjak,
Sambar Deer Rusa unicolor, Spotted Deer
Axis axis, Gaur Bos gaurus,
Wild Boar Sus scrofa, Common Palm Civet Paradoxurus hermaphroditus,
Small Indian Civet Viverricula indica, Ruddy Mongoose Herpestes
smithii, Stripe-necked Mongoose Herpestes vitticollis,
Leopard Cat Prionailurus bengalensis, Tiger Panthera
tigris, Leopard P. pardus,
Dhole Cuon alpinus,
Black-naped Hare Lepus nigricollis,
and Indian Crested Porcupine Hystrix indica.
The Rusty-spotted Cat is a small
felid that is endemic to India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal (Mukherjee et al.
2016). Along with the Black-footed Cat Felis nigripes, it
is among the world’s smallest cat species (Sunquist
& Sunquist 2009).
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), Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve in Chhattisgarh (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).
In Kerala, it is present in Periyar Tiger Reserve, Parambikulam
Tiger Reserve, Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, and Chinnar
Wildlife Sanctuary (Shameer et al. 2019). The species is listed as ‘Near Threatened’ in
the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Mukherjee et al. 2016) and is
protected in India under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (Acharjyo 1998). 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).
Our photographic record of the
Rusty-spotted Cat in Walayar Reserve Forest is of
interest as there are very few confirmed sightings of this species in
Kerala. All the previous records in
Kerala were obtained in dry deciduous forests (Shameer
et al. 2019), and the present record also supports the Rusty-spotted Cat’s
preference for this habitat type.
Further detailed surveys and ecological studies on this species are
needed to ensure its long-term conservation.
For
figure & images - - click here
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