First photographic record of the Rusty-spotted Cat Prionailurus rubiginosus (I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1831) (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) in Horton Plains National Park, Sri Lanka

Authors

  • Thilina Sudarshana Nimalrathna Tropical Ecosystems Research Network, 30c, Temple Road, Hadigama, Piliyandala, Sri Lanka. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2368-042X
  • Yan Ru Choo Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117558. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8852-7178
  • Enoka P. Kudavidanage Tropical Ecosystem Research Network, 30c, Temple Road, Hadigama, Piliyandala, Sri Lanka. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7063-6045
  • Thakshila Ravindra Amarasinghe Tropical Ecosystem Research Network, 30c, Temple Road, Hadigama, Piliyandala, Sri Lanka. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6513-2213
  • Udamulle Gedara Sumith Indika Bandara Department of Wildlife Conservation, 811A, Jayanthipura, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1433-1540
  • Wanninayaka Aarahchilage Charitha Lakmal Wanninayaka Department of Wildlife Conservation, 811A, Jayanthipura, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9369-9839
  • Piyal Ravindrakumar Horton Plains National Park, Department of Wildlife Conservation, Ohiya, Sri Lanka. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6061-5950
  • Marcus Aik Hwee Chua Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119077. And Department of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University, 4400 University Dr, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0229-5127
  • Edward L Webb 14 Science Drive 4, Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117558. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5554-9955

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4094.11.4.13506-13510

Keywords:

camera trap, carnivore, Felidae, montane forest, protected area

Abstract

The Rusty-spotted Cat Prionailurus rubiginosus is thought to be present in most forested areas of Sri Lanka.  Though it was suggested that the species may occur in montane regions, there was no photographic evidence to date.  Here we present the first photographic record of the Rusty-spotted Cat in Horton Plains National Park.  Individuals including cubs were photo-captured on 15 separate occasions during a 5,538 camera trap days study.  These photo-captures were made both during the day and night, and indicate the presence of a breeding population in this protected area. 

Author Biographies

Yan Ru Choo, Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117558.

Department of Biological Sciences

Edward L Webb, 14 Science Drive 4, Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117558.

Department of Biological Sciences

References

Fernando, S.N.U. (1968). The Natural Vegetation of Ceylon. Lake House Bookshop, Colombo, 85pp.

GADM (2015). Database of Global Administrative Areas, Version 2.8. Available online at https://gadm.org/maps/LKA.html. Downloaded on 31 October 2017.

IUCN (1990). Directory of South Asian Protected Areas. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland & Cambridge, U.K., xxiv+294pp.

Kittle, A. & A. Watson (2004). Rusty-spotted Cat in Sri Lanka: observations of an arid zone population. Cat News 40: 17–19.

Kittle, A.M., A.C. Watson, S.A. Cushman & D.W. Macdonald (2017). Forest cover and level of protection influence the island-wide distribution of an apex carnivore and umbrella species, the Sri Lankan Leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya). Biodiversity Conservation 27(1): 235–263; https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-017-1431-8

Ministry of Environment (2012). The National Red List of Sri Lanka: Conservation Status of the Fauna and Flora. Ministry of Environment, Sri Lanka.

Mukherjee, S., J.W. Duckworth, A. Silva, A. Appel & A. Kittle (2016). Prionailurus rubiginosus. In: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T18149A50662471. Downloaded on 28 November 2017; https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T18149A50662471.en

Nekaris, K.A.I. (2003). Distribution and behaviour of three small wild cats in Sri Lanka. Cat News 38: 30–32.

Padmalal, U.K.G.K. & T. Kikuchi (1993). A phytosociological survey on grassland in Horton Plains National Park, Sri Lanka. Ecological Review = Seitaigaku Kenkyu 22(4): 159–174.

Phillips, W.W.A. (1980). Manual of the Mammals of Sri Lanka. Wildlife and Nature Protection Society of Sri Lanka, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 116pp.

R Core Team (2018). The R Project for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. Available online at https://www.R-project.org/. Accessed on 22 July 2018.

Ridout, M. & M. Linkie (2009). Estimating overlap of daily activity patterns from camera trap data. Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Statistics 14(3): 322–337; https://doi.org/10.1198/jabes.2009.08038

Sri Lanka Tourist Board (2017). Annual Statistical Report 2016. Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority ASR, 106pp. http://www.sltda.lk/sites/default/files/annual-statical-report-2017.pdf

Sunquist, M.E. & F.C. Sunquist (2009). Family Felidae (cats), pp54–168. In: Wilson, D.E. & R.A. Mittermeier (eds.) Handbook of the Mammals of the World, Vol. 1. Carnivores. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain, 728pp.

Werner, W.L. (1988). Canopy dieback in the upper montane rain forests of Sri Lanka. GeoJournal 17(2): 245–248; https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02432929

World Heritage Convention (2018). Central Highlands of Sri Lanka. In: UNESCO World Heritage Centre, World Heritage List. Available online at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1203. Accessed on 22 February 2018.

Downloads

Published

12-03-2019

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 4 (2019)

Section

Short Communications

License

Authors own the copyright to the articles published in JoTT.  This is indicated explicitly in each publication. The authors grant permission to the publisher Wildlife Information Liaison Development (WILD) Society to publish the article in the Journal of Threatened Taxa. The authors recognize WILD as the original publisher, and to sell hard copies of the Journal and article to any buyer. JoTT is registered under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY), which allows authors to retain copyright ownership.  Under this license the authors allow anyone to download, cite, use the data, modify, reprint, copy and distribute provided the authors and source of publication are credited through appropriate citations (e.g., Son et al. (2016). Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of the southeastern Truong Son Mountains, Quang Ngai Province, Vietnam. Journal of Threatened Taxa 8(7): 8953–8969. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.2785.8.7.8953-8969). Users of the data do not require specific permission from the authors or the publisher.