Species In News: Indian Desert Cat

In  News 

  • An Indian desert cat has been spotted for the first time in Madhya Pradesh’s Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR).
    • The presence of a desert cat was also recorded in the State’s Nauradehi sanctuary.

Image Courtesy: IE

About Indian Desert Cat 

  • The Indian Desert Cat is also known as the Asiatic Wildcat or the Asian Steppe Wildcat. 
  • Scientific Name: Felis lybica .
  • Description
    • It is smaller than the European wildcat and its fur is more yellow or reddish in colour with characteristic small black or reddish-brown spots and sometimes stripes. 
    • The toes of the species have cushion-like hair which helps them balance the fluctuating desert temperatures.
  • Distribution:
    • This cat is found in deserts and can survive without water. 
    • It is widely distributed from the Caucasus and Turkey to western India, northward to Kazakhstan, western China and southern Mongolia. 
  • Conservation Status: 
  • The wildcat (including Felis silvestris and Felis lybica) is considered as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Panna National Park

  • It is a national park located in the Panna and Chhatarpur districts of Madhya Pradesh in India.
  • It was declared in 1994 as the twenty-second Tiger reserve of India and the fifth in Madhya Pradesh.
  • Panna was given the Award of Excellence in 2007 as the best maintained national park of India by the Ministry of Tourism of India.
  • Among the animals found here are the tiger, leopard, chital, chinkara, nilgai, sambhar and sloth bear.

Source: TH

 

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