First photographic evidence of Fishing Cat Prionailurus viverrinus Bennett, 1833 and Clouded Leopard Neofelis nebulosa Griffith, 1821 (Carnivora: Felidae) in Parsa National Park, Nepal

Amir Sadaula,Ashish Gurung,Babu Ram Lamichhane,Chiranjibi Prasad Pokheral,Dipendra Adhikari,Laxman Prasad Poudyal,Naresh Subedi,Sailendra Raj Giri,Saneer Lamichhane,Santosh Bhattarai,Shashank Poudel,Tek Raj Bhatta,Uba Raj Regmi

doi:10.11609/jott.4549.11.4.13497-13501

Abstract

Twelve cat species were recorded in Nepal including the largest, Tiger Panthera tigris, and the smallest, Rusty-spotted Cat Prionailurus rubiginosus. There is more research on the Panthera species than on small wild cats; consequently, the conservation status, distribution, and ecology of small cat species are poorly known. In this article, we report on the first photographic evidence of Clouded Leopard Neofelis nebulosa and Fishing Cat Prionailurus viverrinus in Parsa National Park in southern central Nepal during a camera trap survey targeted at the tiger between 2014 and 2016. There were only single detections of each species; this does not give enough information to establish distribution or conservation status of either of the species in Parsa National Park. Further targeted surveys are needed to establish the significance of this protected area for the conservation of these two species.

Highlights

We report on the first photographic evidence of Clouded Leopard Neofelis nebulosa and Fishing Cat Prionailurus viverrinus in Parsa National Park in southern central Nepal during a camera trap survey targeted at the tiger between 2014 and 2016
We report Clouded Leopard and Fishing Cat recorded for the first time in Parsa NP in southern central Nepal during a monitoring survey targeting tiger
The species was identified by comparing the pelt pattern with the image of a Clouded Leopard provided in the IUCN Red List (Grassman et al 2016)

Summary

Introduction

The opinions expressed by the authors do not reflect the views of the Journal of Threatened Taxa, Wildlife Information Liaison Development Society, Zoo Outreach Organization, or any of the partners. The journal, the publisher, the host, and the partners are not responsible for the accuracy of the political boundaries shown in the maps by the authors. Distribution and ecology of large charismatic cats like Tiger, Snow Leopard Panthera uncia, and Leopard Panthera pardus are researched considerably in Nepal (see Jackson 1996; Smith et al 1998; Thapa et al 2014; Karki et al 2015) in comparison to small felids. There are huge information gaps on the distribution and status of smaller felids in Nepal. Most of the existing information on small cat species are based on historic references and specimens, anecdotal

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Conclusion