You are logged in
Loading…
You don’t have any Active Subscription.
Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one.
Your active subscription(s)
Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription
Products you’ve access to
Additional Subscription Benefits
Account Settings
Need help with your subscription?
May 13, 2026e-Paper
The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective.
First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming.
Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day.
Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in!
Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers
THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers
Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there
Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary.
The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features.
May 13, 2026e-Paper
Published – May 07, 2026 01:09 am IST – FARIDABAD:
On September 16, 2023, the researchers documented a rusty-spotted cat, Prionailurus rubiginosus, perched on a False Ashoka tree, a common ornamental species found in gardens and along settlements. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
For the first time in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) and Haryana, a rusty-spotted cat – the world’s smallest wild cat – has been photographed with its kitten in Faridabad’s Kot village, confirming breeding activity in the region. The adult and its dependent young were spotted during routine field surveys by a team of researchers monitoring mammalian diversity.
The researchers, including wildlife photographer Yatin Verma, have been conducting observations since August 2022. On September 16, 2023, they documented a rusty-spotted cat, Prionailurus rubiginosus, perched on a False Ashoka tree, a common ornamental species found in gardens and along settlements. Before this, only four to five opportunistic sightings had been reported from different parts of Delhi-NCR, with none establishing breeding.
“In July last year, when we spotted the cat with a kitten, we knew it was an important discovery. It was not documented before,” Mr. Verma said.
A research paper by the team, including Amit Kumar, Tejveer Mavi and others, documenting the discovery was recently published in Zoo’s Print, a monthly, peer-reviewed journal focused on wildlife conservation, zoo management, and animal welfare.
The discovery underscores that the Aravalis – one of India’s oldest fold mountain systems spanning Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat – are crucial for wildlife, including rusty-spotted cats, Mr. Verma said.
He added that in NCR, all records of the species are from the Aravalis, which also shelter leopards and hyenas. This finding reinforces the urgent need to protect the Aravalis as a key stronghold for threatened species, he said.
The new photographic evidence confirms active reproduction outside protected areas. “This record marks a significant extension of the species’ documented breeding range and highlights the conservation importance of fragmented green spaces within the highly urbanised NCR landscape,” the research paper noted.
Kot village lies in the northern range of the Aravalis. The rusty-spotted cat is found in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. In India, its range extends from Tamil Nadu to Jammu and Kashmir, including Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Odisha. Though the cat prefers moist and dry deciduous forests, scrublands, grasslands, and rocky areas, it also breeds near farms and human settlements.
Ecologically elusive and low in density, the species is often under-recorded. The research paper notes that it is listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and as ‘Near Threatened’ on the IUCN Red List. Habitat loss, farm expansion, and industrial growth threaten nearly 75% of its range. Recent records show populations persisting outside protected areas, including Kalesar National Park in Haryana and Takhni-Rehmapur Wildlife Sanctuary in Punjab.
The findings point to viable populations surviving beyond reserve boundaries. Researchers said there is a need to formulate management plans that cover both protected and non-protected landscapes to conserve the species.
Published – May 07, 2026 01:09 am IST
Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
BACK TO TOP
Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.
Leave a Reply