BBC shared a video of the smallest cat in the world who is a fully grown adult male but only looks like a kitten.
In the video, the smallest feline can be seen playing around the forest and it looks so adorable.
The Rusty-Spotted Cat, known as the “hummingbird of the cat family”, is only found in India and Sri Lanka and they prefer dense vegetation and rocky areas and inhabits deciduous forests as well as scrub and grasslands. They were recently discovered living in Nepal.
They are so small that it can fit in the palm of your hand. The rusty-spotted cat may be small in size but they are daring. According to the BBC, their eyes are more powerful than ours and sensitive to the slightest movement.
Though they are wild cats but people keep them as pets because they have been known to show affection toward humans. There are 10,000 Rusty-Spotted Cats in the wild and the species is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. They weigh about 1kg and their eyes are six times more powerful than other cats.
According to Felidae conservation fund website, ”Like other wild cats, the Rusty-Spotted Cat is on the decline mostly due to habitat loss and hunting pressures (for their coat and even for food in some parts of their range).point 296 |
There are reports of their domestication due to their size and affectionate nature.point 71 | In fact, Rusty-Spotted Cats are quite active and playful.point 120 | ”point 127 | 1
”An arboreal and nocturnal feline, the Rusty-Spotted Cat, unsurprisingly, preys on small animals such as frogs, rodents, insects, small birds and reptiles. They have also has been known to prey on domestic poultry sometimes leading to human-wildlife conflicts.”
It is illegal to trade or hunt cats in India or Sri Lanka as they are protected by law.
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