One lucky naturalist got a glimpse of a rarely seen small cat while on a herping tour in the Mollem Forest in India. While they were not there to capture cats in this environment, the tour was lucky to spot the elusive leopard cat, which they captured with their cameras.
"We were photographing a Malabar pit viper. Suddenly, we heard the screeching of a chicken. We thought the pit viper had made the chicken its prey. But we saw that the sound was coming from elsewhere, and it turned out to be a leopard cat. It was a very rare sighting," Gajanan Shetye, the herping tour guide, shared with the Times of India.
Wildlife enthusiast Gajanan Shetye spotted a leopard cat with its kill in Mollem, Goa pic.twitter.com/54YzSFMAiG
— Vision Viksit Mumbai 🇮🇳 (@jatinjkothari) July 6, 2025
The naturalist went on to say that the animal is naturally secretive and shy, yet it did not immediately run for cover. After a few minutes, the leopard cat disappeared into the forest holding its kill.
Continuing the interview, Shetye shared that there is very little known about this cat, but it has been seen along the Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats, coastal mangrove habitats, and foothill forests. It is the most common small cat in this region after the jungle cat, and they are very active hunters. These cats feed on mammals, lizards, amphibians, and insects, but "rodents and small birds form the majority of their diet," said Shetye.
Leopard cats are a necessary part of their ecosystem as increases in this animal indicate lower numbers of big cats, like tigers and leopards, as well as they keep smaller animals in proportional numbers. A balance in animal populations is necessary to avoid having any species become extinct. If any part of the food chain becomes too small or big, it can disrupt the entire chain.
Humans can be a big disruptor to natural environments as animals may flee from everyday human behavior, such as camping, or feel the need to relocate altogether when poaching is common. Luckily, trail cameras can assist with research without disrupting the animals, as well as keep an eye on those trying to break the law.
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