Arunachal Pradesh, one of India's northeastern states, is the least explored and may be the only one with all four of the country's big cats: the tiger (Pantheratigris), leopard (Pantherapardus), clouded leopard (Neofelisnebulosa), and snow leopard (Pantherauncia). There are also smaller cats in the area, including the golden cat, leopard cat, marbled cat, and fishing cat. I'll give a brief overview of these cats in this blog. The clouded leopard and snow leopard have been covered in the Exploring Faunas of Arunachal Pradesh. 

Let's start exploring!

Tiger (Pantheratigris)

Researchers believe that the Tigers in India comprise more than two-thirds of the global tiger population. They are the largest living cat species and a member of the genus Panthera. Its conservation status is categorized as endangered as per the IUCN Red List due to decreasing population and habitat loss. Their height is about 80–110 cm and they have a lifespan of 8–10 years in the wild. The mass of an adult male ranges from 90–310 kg and a female's ranges from 65–170 kg.

 They have a record for occupying vast regions in a variety of habitats, including mangrove forests, deciduous woods, evergreen forests, tropical rain forests, and grasslands. Studies of tigers living at higher altitudes are uncommon because it is typically believed that they only exist at lower altitudes. However, a three-year study has just recently revealed the first-ever proof of Indian tigers thriving in the snow-covered mountains of Arunachal Pradesh.

 Researchers G V Gopi and Aisho Sharma Adhikarimayum from the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, used camera traps to capture images of the tigers roaming the Mishmi Hills and Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh at an elevation of 3600 metres above sea level. The findings have been published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa.

The leopard (Pantherapardus)

The genus Panthera, a member of the feline family Felidae, contains five living species, the leopard is one of them. Its habitat is in a wide range of regions in sub-Saharan Africa; parts of Western, Central Asia, Southern Russia, and the Indian subcontinent of Southeast and East Asia. The species' populations have decreased as a result of habitat loss and poaching for the illicit trade in skins and body parts, which has led to the species' listing as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

 According to recent data, the leopard is believed to be present in only 25% of its previous global range. Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Jordan, Morocco, Togo, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Kuwait, Syria, Libya, and Tunisia all consider the leopard to be locally extinct. They can be found in Namdapha National Park of Arunachal Pradesh

The Golden cat (Felistemmincki)

The Golden cat is a medium-sized wild cat that is indigenous to China, Southeast Asia, and the northeastern Indian subcontinent. It is listed as near threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of threatened species.

 Recently, cameras placed across the Dibang Valley region in Arunachal Pradesh captured Asian golden cats with six different coat colours which include five colours previously described from different parts of the cat’s distribution across Asia — golden, grey, cinnamon, melanistic (black), and ocelot (spotted) — as well as a previously unrecorded dark pattern of tightly spaced rosettes.

 Scientists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), an international conservation charity, and University College London (UCL) have discovered the six colour morphs of the golden cat in the Dibang Valley region. The study about the many colours of wild cats of the same species was published in 'Ecology, the Ecological Society of America’s journal' of which the field study for two years was led by SahilNijhawan with local collaborators IhoMitapo and JibiPulu from the Idu Mishmi tribe.

The leopard cat (Prionailurusbengalensis)

The leopard cat is a small-sized cat that is widely distributed, and commonly found in South and East Asia. A healthy adult leopard cat can weigh up to 3-9 kg and measure 68 cm in length. This species is considered as least concern (LC) by IUCN Red List since 2002 and CITES is listed in Appendix I.

 It is a cat that spends most of its time alone and at night. It can be found in a variety of habitats, though it prefers shrubland, grassland, lowland forest, conifer forest, as well as tropical rainforests, and broadleaf temperate forest. Using capture-recapture sampling in the forests of Pakke Tiger Reserve, Arunachal Pradesh, the researchers have found evidence of leopard cats in the region.

The marbled cat (Felismarmorata).

The marbled cat has the size of a large domestic cat and physically resembles the clouded leopard. It is a small wild cat that originates from the eastern Himalayas and lives in Southeast Asia's forests up to 2,500 metres above sea level. Its conservation status is vulnerable since the population is rapidly declining and has been listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List since 2015. It is also listed under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

 They are usually found in the moist, semi-evergreen tropical forest with hills, though there have been a few reports of this cat in clearings or secondary forests close to primary forests. The Pakke Tiger Reserve's forests were where the first photographic proof of a marbled cat thriving in Arunachal Pradesh was discovered.

The fishing cat (Prionailurusviverrinus)

The fishing cat (Prionailurusviverrinus) is a medium-sized wild cat that is primarily found in South and Southeast Asia. It is roughly twice the size of a typical house cat. A mass of an adult can be up to 8.8 kg and length up to 78 cm. Fishing cats are generally found in wetland areas, such as marshes, swamps, and mangrove forests.

 Due to habitat loss, illegal poaching, roadkills, and other factors, it has been classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2016. Their first populations are threatened by the destruction of wetlands and have declined severely over the last decade. DayingEring Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary, Pakke Wildlife Sanctuary, and Talley Wildlife Sanctuary are some of the most significant protected sites for them in Arunachal Pradesh

 Trivia: Leopard (PantheraPardus), The Tiger (Panthera Tigris), Snow Leopard (PantheraUncia), and Clouded Leopard (NeofelisNebulosa) are the four big cat species that are only found in Namdapha National Park, Arunachal Pradesh of Indian region.