10 Medium Sized Wild Cats Found in Indian Forest

Indian wildcat or just wild cats includes the top 5 Big Cats of India from the Felidae biological family known as Asiatic lion,Bengal Tiger,Indian leopard,Snow leopard and Clouded leopard.

Apart from the 5 Big cats of India, there are medium sized wild cats such as Himalayan cat,Bengal cat,Bombay Cat,Mountain Cat and catlike mammals such as Pogeyan Cat and Indian civet lives in wild Indian forest of Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary and National Parks.

Jungle Cat

The jungle cat or reed cat and swamp cat, is a medium-sized cat native to Asia and are the most common small cats found here in the Himalayas.

Desert Cat

Indian desert cat also known as the Asian steppe wildcat or Asiatic wildcat inhabit the Thar Desert and are associated with scrub desert, reported as common in the Rajasthan.

Fishing Cat

Fishing cat is a medium-sized wild cat of mangrove swamps,primarily found in the Terai region of the Himalayan foothills in India. This feline from Asia is a lesser cat that loves the water and will actually swim to catch the fish.

Leopard Cat

The leopard cat is a small wild cat found in the Indian Subcontinent,They live in tropical evergreen rainforests in the foothills of the Himalayas at altitudes.

Golden Cat

The Asian golden cat is a medium-sized wild cat close to qualifying as Vulnerable due to hunting pressure and habitat loss, they are found in more open terrain such as the grasslands of Assam’s Manas National Park.

Spotted Cat

The rusty-spotted cat is the smallest wild cat species that occurs only in India, They were observed in the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park and Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve.

Pallas’s Cat

The Pallas’s cat inhabits Tibet and Indian Kashmir in the grasslands and montane steppes and negatively affected by habitat degradation, prey base decline and hunting.

Marbled Cat

The marbled cat has been listed as Vulnerable closely related to the Asian golden cat and the bay cat,Marbled cats are found in the Himalayan foothills. Image-mongabay

Caracal Cat

The caracal wild cat is territorial, nocturnal and a carnivore medium sized wild cat species native to Africa and India. The endangered cat spotted in few pockets of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh in scrubby and arid habitats.

Lynx Cat

Eurasian lynx is another lesser wild cat found in India, In Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and most other Himalayan states. The medium sized wild cat with reddish and brown coat, live in the cold mountain range and reported from forest area of Shopian in Kashmir region. Image source – OutlookIndia.