Felis chaus

Also known as the Reed Cat & Swamp Cat

Kumbhargaon Village outskirts, Patan Taluka, Maharashtra

To the south of Bhigwan, bereft of any hills, lie the wide Ujni backwater wetlands. A shallow waste water reserve formed by the discharge of water from the Pune region dams like Panshet, Pawna, Khadakwasla, Varasgaon, Temghar, etc. This semi waste water has created an excellent wetland based ecosystem supporting a large variety of water birds, both endemic and migratory, and also helped with the local agriculture. Nearly 300 species of endemic and migratory birds have been recorded here. The rainfall in the Pune region decides the water level in Ujni dam. Lesser the water, the shallower it is and therefore more birds make it their home in the winter. 

Surrounding this lush ecosystem are the rich grasslands and fertile farms home to an impressive list of birds, mammals and reptiles. The area around these backwaters are also unique with rich farmlands and dry deciduous scrub forest with interspersed grasslands. Home to an impressive list of birds, mammals and reptiles they protect many mammals like the Chinkara, Indian Mongoose, Near Threatened Striped Hyena, the Endangered Indian Grey Wolf & Indian Fox and are also popular for grassland birds and numerous birds of prey, including some magnificent eagles & harriers. My trip this time was focused only a few species like the Striped Hyena, Indian Grey Wolf and the Jungle Cat.

After we completed our spectacular run with the Wolves - watch the video - we made our way out of the grasslands in the darkness heading back to our base in Kumbhargaon village. We were excited and tired and were chatting about the fantastic experience with the wolves and planning our strategy for the Hyena (watch the Hyena video) when Ganesh bhai suddenly exclaimed and stopped the car on the outskirts of the village. On our right was a little patch of rocky ground and some reasonably dense foliage and among the rocks was a Jungle Cat. I took out my Fenix and asked Ganesh to shine it from a 45 degree angle or as much was possible, set up with a bean bag on the window sill of the car and started to film. The following photos and video are among the most pleasurable and relaxed moments I have spent with the Jungle Cat especially after bouncing around with the wolves throughout the day. A fantastic end to an amazing day but little did I know it was going to get better.  

There were two!

First we saw only one and then a little later he moved to the second which was hidden behind some brush. They seemed to have feasted well given their swollen tummies and were lazing around listening to the sounds of the night. 

Kumbhargaon is a nondescript village in the Satara district to the south of Bhigwan, a quaint, small & rugged town on the border of the Pune and Solapur districts in Maharashtra, in India. During its mild winters, Kumbhargaon, Bhigwan and its surrounding areas become the home of countless migratory birds making it the “Bharatpur of Maharashtra”. The area around Bhigwan and the River Bhima is vast and unique with diverse habitats ranging from the shallow wetland ecosystem of the Ujni backwaters to the surrounding rich farmlands and dry deciduous scrub forest with interspersed grasslands. 

Did you know that India is home to more wild cats than anywhere else in the world? The Indian subcontinent has 15 distinct species of wild cats. However, most of these felines take a backseat when the charismatic megafauna among them - tigers and leopards - attracts the limelight. One such species is the Jungle Cat (Felis chaus), which finds itself among the 10 lesser-known small wild cat species of India. Most fail to identify this species at first glance, but jungle cats have a more widespread distribution than its peers across the country.

The common misconception is that Jungle Cats are found only in jungles. Contrary to its name, the jungle cat is not primarily linked to forests, but is known to have an affinity for moist environments instead. This is why Jungle Cats in Africa are also known as Swamp Cats or Reed Cats. In India, they reside in the country’s diverse biospheres, which include deserts, lowland forests and deep jungles. It also thrives in wetlands, scrublands, grasslands, and swamps with dense vegetation of reeds, and zones at the edge of large water bodies - as we see in this case where the Ujni Backwaters are in close proximity. They may also inhabit patches of scrub vegetation in agricultural regions, as well as sugarcane plantations which is also true in our case.

My friends from the Agnipankha Flamingo Birding Point - Sandip & Ganesh - messaged me that they were sighting Hyenas and Wolves fairly regularly. It took me a day to sort out my affairs and off I went in search of these elusive species and some more just to increase the fun factor. I was basically shooting from dark to dark given the species I had targeted and the heat just made it more fun to sweat it out. 

Jungle Cat

The Jungle Cat population spreads across the continents of Asia and Africa. They are medium-sized felines with long legs, larger, yet thinner, than domestic cats. They have huge, tufted, pointed ears that are reddish brown in colour. Their eyes have yellow irises and elliptical pupils. While their muzzles are white, their face is long and thin, and their throat is of a pale tone. Their belly area is a lighter shade than the rest of the body, and their short tail has a pattern of rings and a black tip at the end. The female cats are known to be lighter and smaller than the males. Melanistic and albino individuals are also known. It is solitary in nature, except during the mating season and mother-kitten families.

Native to the Middle East, the Caucasus, South and Southeast Asia and southern China they inhabit foremost wetlands like swamps, littoral and riparian areas with dense vegetation. Jungle Cats are listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, and their main threat is destruction of wetlands, trapping and poisoning. They are most commonly found at elevations below 1,000 metres, but have been recorded in the Himalayas at 2,400 metres. Jungle cats have also been recorded well into mountainous areas in Tadzhikistan, but were always found along densely vegetated river valleys. Their preferred habitat is the tall grasses, reed beds or thick brush surrounding wetlands which is prime rodent habitat. These areas are found in a variety of ecosystems including desert oases or along riverbeds in grasslands, scrub or deciduous forests. These adaptable cats can do well in cultivated landscapes and forest plantations with artificial wetlands. They have been found in association with man-made fish ponds, reservoirs and sprinkler-irrigated landscapes.

Adult Jungle Cats maintain territories by urine spraying and scent marking and they prefer prey like small mammals and birds. It hunts by stalking its prey, followed by a sprint or a leap; the ears help in pinpointing the location of prey. Both sexes become sexually mature by the time they are one year old; females enter oestrus from January to March. Mating behaviour is similar to that in the domestic cat: the male pursues the female in oestrus, seizes her by the nape of her neck and mounts her. Gestation lasts nearly two months. Births take place between December and June, though this might vary geographically. Kittens begin to catch their own prey at around six months and leave the mother after eight or nine months.

The species was first described by Johann Anton Güldenstädt in 1776 based on a specimen caught in a Caucasian wetland. Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber gave the jungle cat its present binomial name and is therefore generally considered as binomial authority. Three subspecies are recognised at present. Geographical variation of the jungle cat is not yet well understood and needs to be examined. The following grouping is based on the classification of the species provided in Mammal Species of the World. It also shows the synonyms used in the revision of the Cat Classification Task Force:

Jungle Cate Subspecies & Distribution:

• Felis chaus chaus Schreber, 1777 - Synonymous with Felis chaus furax de Winton, 1898, Felis chaus nilotica de Winton, 1898, Felis chaus maimanah Zukowsky, 1915, Felis chaus oxiana Heptner, 1969 - Distributed in the Caucasus, Turkestan, Iran, Baluchistan and Yarkand, East Turkestan, Palestine, Israel, southern Syria, Iraq, Egypt; northern Afghanistan and south of the Amu Darya River; along the right tributaries of the Amu Darya River, in the lower courses of the Vakhsh River ranging eastwards to the Gissar Valley and slightly beyond Dushanbe. 

• Felis chaus affinis Gray, 1830 - Synonymous with Felis chaus kutas Pearson, 1832, Felis chaus kelaarti Pocock, 1939, Felis chaus prateri Pocock, 1939, Felis chaus valbalala Deraniyagala, 1955 - Distributed in South Asia: Himalayan region ranging from Kashmir and Nepal to Sikkim, Bengal westwards to Kutch and Yunnan, southern India and Sri Lanka.

• Felis chaus fulvidina Thomas, 1929 - Distributed in Southeast Asia: ranging from Myanmar and Thailand to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam

The jungle cat is a medium-sized, long-legged cat, and the largest of the extant Felis species. The head-and-body length is typically between 59 and 76 cm. It stands nearly 36 cm at the shoulder and weighs 2–16 kg. Its body size decreases from west to east; this was attributed to greater competition from small cats in the east. Its body size shows a similar decrease from the northern latitudes toward the tropics. Sexually dimorphic, females tend to be smaller and lighter than males. The face is long and narrow, with a white muzzle. The large, pointed ears, 4.5–8 cm in length and reddish brown on the back, are set close together; a small tuft of black hairs, nearly 15 mm long, emerges from the tip of both ears. The eyes have yellow irides and elliptical pupils; white lines can be seen around the eye. Dark lines run from the corner of the eyes down the sides of the nose and a dark patch marks the nose. The skull is fairly broad in the region of the zygomatic arch; hence the head of this cat appears relatively rounder.

The jungle cat is found in the Middle East, the Caucasus, the Indian subcontinent, central and Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka and in southern China. A habitat generalist, the jungle cat inhabits places with adequate water and dense vegetation, such as swamps, wetlands, littoral and riparian areas, grasslands and shrub. It is common in agricultural lands, such as fields of bean and sugarcane, across its range, and has often been sighted near human settlements. As reeds and tall grasses are typical of its habitat, it is known as "reed cat" or "swamp cat". It can thrive even in areas of sparse vegetation, but does not adapt well to cold climates and is rare in areas where snowfall is common. Historical records indicate that it occurs up to elevations of 7,580 ft in the Himalayas. It shuns rainforests and woodlands. In India, it is the most common small wild cat.

Jungle cats rub their faces and claws against trees to leave their scent as a way to mark their territory. Along with this, urine spraying is another method used by jungle cats to indicate their domain. They are solitary animals, but a pair in the wild may be spotted with their kittens. These cats are mostly carnivores, and primarily consume prey weighing less than one kilogram. While they feed on small mammals, studies conducted in India of their faecal matter have noted that rodents are what they most prefer to eat. The jungle cat is a diurnal species that mostly hunts in the early hours of morning and during those hours when heat is not at its peak. While it sleeps in scrubs, thickets of grass, and inside burrows, it chooses to relax out in the open while basking in the sun on cold winter days. Like all cats, jungle cats hiss and purr to communicate, but unlike most felines, these cats highly enjoy diving into water! Jungle cats are skilful swimmers in the water bodies that exist in their habitat.

Jungle Cats feed on a wide variety of prey species reflecting the variety of habitats they frequent, but small rodents are the main prey. A field study in India estimated one cat could catch 3 to 5  rodents per day, with birds ranking second in importance. They were also seen scavenging kills of large predators.

These cats are excellent swimmers, and have been observed diving into shallow water for fish. In southern Russia waterfowl was found to be the mainstay of their diet in the winter months. The Russian study also showed that olives made up 17% of their diet.

Jungle Cats frequently use the abandoned burrows of other carnivores such as foxes and badgers as den sites. Known to be active by day and by night, they are often spotted amidst human settlements, denning in old buildings.

These cats are reliant on healthy wetland systems so the ongoing reclamation and destruction of natural wetlands poses a serious threat to the species. Jungle Cats are widespread and common in some parts of their range, but in Egypt and many parts of Asia their populations are showing sharp declines. Trapping, snaring and poisoning have also caused population declines in many areas throughout their range. In India, local tribesmen easily identify the Jungle Cat from photos, and describe it as part of their wild meat diet. It is considered a delicacy and found more regularly on the menu than other wild cats in the area. These cats share the distinction with African Wild cats Felis silvestris and domestic cats of having been mummified and placed in tombs in ancient Egypt. They are also depicted hunting small birds and mammals in Egyptian wall paintings.

The IUCN Red List places jungle cats in the Least Concern category, however, their population is shown to be declining. These small cats are prone to several threats due to rising anthropogenic pressures. Within human-dominated agricultural landscapes, mechanised farming practices and rodent control measures aimed at safeguarding crops risk the survival of jungle cats residing in the vicinity. And that’s not all. Vehicle collisions and the presence of feral dogs also pose danger to jungle cats that find themselves within urban spaces. 

In India, lack of awareness has caused small wild cats becoming frequent targets of retaliatory killings or attacks. They are often mistaken by most to be deadly felines. Farmers attempt to eradicate jungle cats, rusty-spotted cats, and fishing cats, believing them to be progeny of the big cats of the wild. This has also led the pastoral communities to resort to killing cats such as Eurasian lynx and jungle cats in order to protect their cattle. Furthermore, a cursory glance of jungle cat kittens can lead one to believe that they are leopard cubs, especially due to similarities in size, colouration, and markings. 

‡‡‡‡‡

Related Posts