Why in News?
- According to the experts, these are the first photographic records of the melanistic Asian golden cat, also known as the Temminck’s cat, from West Bengal.
About Asian golden cat:
- It is a medium sized cat with relatively long legs.
- Scientific name: Catopuma temminckii
- Other names: They are known as the “fire cat” in Thailand and Burma, and as the “rock cat” in parts of China.
- Distribution: The species occurs in Southeast Asia, from Nepal and Tibet to Southern China, Sumatra and India.
- Habitat: It prefers forest habitats that are interspersed with rocky areas, being found in deciduous, tropical and subtropical evergreen rainforests.
- Their fur ranges in color from cinnamon to various shades of brown, and also gray and black (melanistic).
- Conservation status:
- IUCN: “Near threatened”
- Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, 1972: Schedule 1
Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR):
- Location: BTR lies in Alipurduar sub-division of Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal.
- Its northern boundary runs along the international border with Bhutan.
- It is the easternmost extension of extreme bio-diverse North-East India & represents the highly endemic Indo-Malayan region.
- The fragile "Terai Eco-System" constitutes a part of this Reserve.
- BTR serves as an international corridor for elephant migration between India and Bhutan.
- The reserve encompasses as many as eight forest types.
- Flora: The main species constitutes trees like Sal, Champ, Gamar, Simul, Chikrasi.
- Fauna: The main species include Asian Elephant, Tiger, Gaur, Wild boar, Sambar,Wild dog (Dhole).
