All Pets

World's Smallest Cat Species Spotted at Indian Tiger Reserve

the daily dish More on PawNation: Awesome, Cats, Exotic, India, Rusty Spotted Cat, The Dish

By Kelli Bender Jun 27th 2012

The big cats of India received some unexpected, pint-sized visitors. According to the Deccan Chronicle, two rusty-spotted cats were seen pawing around the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan.

Activists and wildlife officials are excited that this adorable duo was seen out and about, because rusty-spotted cats are extremely rare. The smallest species of cat, the rusty-spotted cat measures around 13 to 18 inches long and weighs between two and three-and-a-half pounds. Aside from being rare, this species is also very shy, which makes it even more surprising that two volunteers spotted these tiny animals wandering around a big-cat reserve. The volunteers even managed to capture the encounter on camera.

The rusty-spotted cat has been recorded in the wild several times, but aside from this new footage, very few have seen the animal outside captivity. The species is native to Sri Lanka and India, and is protected by both countries. Hopefully, conservation efforts will lead to more rusty-spotted-cat sightings in the future.

See the world's shortest cat and other feline record breakers:

Add a Comment

Sign in »

7 Comments

Filter by:

atula

The same video was posted by someone on Youtube on June 2010. It has been captured in Port Lympne Wild Animal Park, Kent. Here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PESqkSC-jw
So please don't say that this is the latest footage....either there is no latest video...or you are just recycling an old one to say that this is the one the volunteers shot....please be specific....

July 02 2012 at 12:02 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

j.brit20

If you have dreamed about dating a millionaire, you may check MillionaireLoveLinks..it's where wealthy people meet singles who have similar tastes and lifestyles. It's worth a try!

RS Shekhawat, field director, Sariska Tiger Reserve, said, "We have received reports from indivisuals who claimed that they have sighted rusty-spotted cat in the mountain near Dakkan Chowki area of the reserve. Recently, some people have provided us with pictures of the animal. So we are trying to find out if there are such cats in the region," he added.

June 27 2012 at 9:12 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Trina

very cool and oh so pretty!!!

June 27 2012 at 7:12 PM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down Reply

vcgraphics

Tauzero don't be hard on yourself Ive done that before.

I must confess even with watching the video the cat looks to be the size of a houes cat.

I was expecting to see something that looked more like a house cat that is in-between being a kitten and adult.

June 27 2012 at 3:57 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply