Abstract
The Rusty-spotted Cat Prionailurus rubiginosus is the smallest cat in the world and restricted to the Indian subcontinent. Although it has been recorded across India, its ecology is poorly understood. In the northwestern state of Rajasthan, it has been recorded in the dry deciduous forest landscapes of Udaipur, Sariska, and Ranthambore. We report camera trap records of the Rusty-Spotted Cat in semi evergreen and dry deciduous forests in Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary, Rajasthan. In the current study from September 2017 to April 2018, out of 1,800 camera trapping nights the species was recorded on ten occasions, at four different locations in Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary.
Highlights
The Rusted-spotted Cat has been reported in various regions, spanning a wide range of habitats in the country
Material and Methods In order to establish a scientific management practice in Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary, camera trapping surveys were implemented to determine the diversity of species and their distribution pattern across the landscape
The Rusty-spotted Cat was recorded on ten different occasions at four camera locations (Table 2). It was recorded in nine occasions at elevations above 800m in semi evergreen forest patches, and once in dry deciduous forest in lower elevations
Summary
The Rusted-spotted Cat has been reported in various regions, spanning a wide range of habitats in the country. These include the foothills of the Himalaya in Jammu & Kashmir, the Terai region, Deccan Plateau, Eastern Ghats, Western Ghats, and the semi-arid landscape of Gujarat & Rajasthan (Chakraborty 1978; Digveerendrasinh 1995; Mukherjee 1998; Dubey 1999; Manakadan & Sivakumar 2006; Patel 2006; Pillay 2008; Anwar et al 2010; Aditya & Ganesh 2016). Two-third of the state of Rajasthan is under desert cover; in arid and semi-arid parts the main forest type is thorn forest, and tropical dry deciduous forest occurs in Editor: Angie Appel, Wild Cat Network, Bad Marienberg, Germany
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