Rare leopard cat spotted on camera in Kolhapur’s Radhanagri sanctuary

These cats are usually nocturnal

In what can be termed as good news, the camera trap installed at Radhanagri Wildlife Sanctuary near Kolhapur has captured the footage of a leopard cat - the first ever record of the species from the sanctuary. Both Radhanagri Wildlife Sanctuary and Dajipur Wildlife Sanctuary in Kolhapur are UNESCO Natural World Heritage sites and so, the sighting of the leopard cat is a significant development.

In January 2020, Mumbai-based nature lover Nirmalkumar Kurve and Dr Poonam Kurve, who had come to Dajipur Wildlife sanctuary, had spotted a leopard cat in
broad daylight. Such sighting is rare because of its elusive nature. Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Wildlife Sunil Limaye said, "Some tourists who had visited Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary have claimed to have spotted a tiger. In order to confirm the same, I had instructed our forest department staff to install camera traps. One of the cameras captured the image of a leopard cat."

The leopard cat is the size of a domestic house cat, and has longer legs, a relatively small head with a short, narrow muzzle. It is also found in Bangladesh, Thailand, Jawa and Sumatra regions, and in India, it's is found in the Western Ghats. "The sighting of this shy and nocturnal species highlights how ecologically important the area is in terms of the conservation," said V Clement Ben, chief conservator of forest, Kolhapur. According to experts, leopard cats are widely prevalent, however, such a sighting is rare because they are predominantly nocturnal species and shy.