Medak: The elusive rust-spotted cat seen

Medak: Pocharam Wildlife Sanctuary is home to the oxidized spotted Esquido cat, the world’s smallest wild cat. Researchers working on the conservation of oxidized spotted cats found scientific evidence of the cat, after searching over the course of four months in 40 villages located on the fringes of the sanctuary of Vida Sylvestre Pocharam in Medak district. Starting their work in September last year, the researchers installed 15 cameras in villages and moved them from one village to another over the course of four months. In a statement to Telangana Today, Amarnath Jakka, wildlife head of the Animal Warriors Conservation Society (AWCS), which directed the conservation project, said they had interviewed several villagers to verify whether they had ever seen this animal. Show a picture of the kind of cat you have seen. Cat. As some of them said, he made every effort to identify them and ultimately succeeded in his endeavor. Amarnath said more cameras would now be installed in and around Pocharam to identify the distribution and regional rank of the cat. Later he prepared a conservation strategy in collaboration with the Forest Department of Telangana. The cat mainly eats rodents, birds, lizards and insects. Due to habitat loss, the population of rust-spotted cats is alarmingly declining in India. The cat has been seen only in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal. As part of the conservation work, Amarnath said they will also educate villagers about the need to protect the small cat as it will help farmers by keeping the rodents from feeding on them. Conservation committees will be formed in these villages as part of the conservation strategy, he said, adding that they are looking forward to the support of the forest department.