Why in News?
The recent sighting of a Rusty-spotted Cat and its kitten in the Aravalli landscape near Delhi has raised concerns over habitat fragmentation, urban expansion, and ecological degradation in one of India’s oldest mountain systems.
| UPSC Relevance: GS-3 Environment and Biodiversity: Species in News Prelims: Rusty-Spotted Cat |
Key facts about Rusty-Spotted Cat:
- The Rusty-spotted Cat is among the world’s smallest wild cat species and is native to the Indian subcontinent.
- Distribution: India, Nepal, Sri Lanka
- Physical Characteristics & Behaviour:
- One of the smallest wild cats in the world. Weight: around 1-2 kg
- Short greyish-brown fur with rusty spots.
- Large eyes adapted for nocturnal behaviour.
- Usually avoids direct human interaction.
- Habitat: The species inhabits dry deciduous forests, scrub forests, grasslands, rocky terrains and thorn forests. Increasingly being recorded in agricultural and semi-urban areas.
- Ecological role: Small wildcats are important mesopredators. They help regulate populations of rodents, small birds and insects. This contributes to agricultural pest control, food web stability and ecological balance.
Conservation Status of Rusty-Spotted Cat:
- IUCN Status: Near Threatened
- Protection Status in India: Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
- CITES: Appendix I
Indicator of Ecosystem Stress:
- Increasing sightings of the species near human settlements may reflect their habitat shrinkage. It reflects the larger crisis of habitat fragmentation and unsustainable urbanisation in ecologically fragile landscapes like the Aravallis.
The conservation strategies must move beyond species-centric approaches and adopt integrated landscape conservation models, balancing biodiversity protection with developmental needs.
Practice MCQ:
Q. Consider the following statements regarding the Rusty-Spotted Cat:
1. It is one of the smallest wildcat species in the world.
2. It is endemic only to India.
3. It regulates the populations of rodents and small prey species.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 2 and 3 only
Answer: (c)
UPSC MCQ 2023
Q. Which one of the following makes a tool with a stick to scrape insects from a hole in a tree or a log of wood?
(a) Fishing cat
(b) Orangutan
(c) Otter
(d) Sloth bear
Answer: (b)
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