He may look like a kitten or even fit in the palm of your hand, but this little male is nearly fully grown. What he lacks in size he makes up for endearing. Young cats are born curious. It is how they learn about their world, even if it gets them into trouble. His eyes are six times more powerful than humans. His senses are sensitive to the slightest of movements and today from Review Tales, I wish to discuss “The rusty-spotted cat” and hope that you enjoy reading it.
Even though they are to be unique in being small, not much is known about their ecology or behavior in the wild. These cats feed on rodents and birds. They also hunt lizards, frogs, and insects.
They can be located in India and Sri Lanka. How rare are they? Studies show that there are only 36 of them worldwide.
Nineteenth-century British physician and zoologist Thomas C. Jerdon kept a number of rusty-spotted cats in his home for research, and according to Wild Cats of the World by Swiss naturalist and writer Charles Albert Walter Guggisberg, he said of them, “I had a kitten brought to me when very young in 1846, and it became quite tame and was the delight and admiration of all who saw it. Its activity was quite marvelous and it was very playful and elegant in its motions.”
That’s it for now. What do you think of this little-spotted friend of ours? It must feel pretty lonely to know that there are such few of them around.
Written by Jeyran Main
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Some information was obtained from IUCN Wild Cats Book.
