Indian Desert Cat

Published on: 20-Dec-21
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Madhya Pradesh Geography and Environment Add to Study Deck

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.

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.