In a remarkable breakthrough for wildlife research in Northeast India, camera traps recently captured the first-ever photographs of the elusive Marbled Cat in Kakoi Reserve Forest, Assam.
About Marbled Cat:
It is a small wild cat of South and Southeast Asia.
It is often referred to as a miniature version of the unrelated clouded leopard.
Scientific Name: Pardofelis marmorata
Distribution:
Marbled cats range from the Eastern Himalayas to Upper Burma and the Indochinese region.
This distribution includes areas of northern India, Nepal, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, and Borneo.
In India, the Indian marbled cat is primarily found in the forests of Northeastern states.
Habitat:
Marbled cats have been recorded in a variety of habitats from sea level to 3,000 meters.
Habitats include mixed deciduous-evergreen forest,secondary forest, clearings, six-year-old logged forest, and rocky scrub.
Features:
It is about the size of a domestic cat. It measures roughly 45–60 cm (18–24 inches) long, excluding a tail of approximately the same length.
The fur is full and soft with widely variable markings. The base color is brownish yellow, and the coat is covered in large blotches, which are paler in their centers and outlined in black.
Large broken blotches occur on the flanks, and blackish lines occur on the head, neck, and back.
These patterns tend to be smaller than in clouded leopards, and they merge together, resembling marble.
They are known to be excellent climbers and are capable of leaping great distances between trees.
They are solitary animals.
They are nocturnal and may feed on small animals and birds.
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