The rusty spotted cat, one of the world’s rarest & smallest cats, was recently sighted in Punjab for first time.

Site where cat was captured in camera trap set up: Takhni-Rehmapur wildlife sanctuary in Hoshiarpur 

IUCN Red list status: Near Threatened

Takhni-Rehmapur Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Hoshiarpur. The 382-hectare Takhni-Rehmapur Wildlife Sanctuary is distributed more or less equally between the two villages that make up its name. Declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1999, it is part of the Shivalik range of the Himalayas. Its mixed deciduous forests harbour a rich variety of fauna and flora including a number of avian species. A large number of deer inhabit this sanctuary, as do jungle cats, jackals, leopards, wild boar and black-naped hares. Mongoose, pangolins, snakes, monitor and garden lizards have also been regularly spotted.

The rusty-spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus) is one of the cat family's smallest members, of which historical records are known only from India and Sri Lanka.

 In 2012, it was also recorded in the western Terai of Nepal. Since 2016, the global wild population is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List as it is fragmented and affected by loss and destruction of prime habitat, deciduous forests.