Since 2002, the species has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely distributed although threatened by habitat loss and hunting in parts of its range
In an interesting development involving the country’s wildlife, an endangered female adult leopard cat has been rescued from an under-construction building in Lohagara Upazila of Chittagong.
A team from Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary, an IUCN Category IV protected area, rescued the animal from the Chunati Bazar area upazila around 2 pm on Wednesday.
The leopard cat is a small wild cat native to continental South, Southeast, and East Asia. Since 2002, the species has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely distributed although threatened by habitat loss and hunting in parts of its range.
Prior to that, leopard cats (Prionailurus Bengalensisas) was declared “near threatened” species in Bangladesh on February 26 in 2015.
These cats are protected under the Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act-2012. So, killing or harming the animals is a punishable offence.
A news report says that in Bangladesh, leopard cats were first spotted in in Sylhet in 2015.
In Chunati, locals first noticed the leopard cat and informed the sanctuary authorities causing the latter to take prompt measures to rescue the endangered cat in an operation led by Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation Officer Noor Jahan.
Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary Range Officer Mahmud Hossain and Beat Officer Arifur Rahman, among others, also joined the rescue operation.
Noor Jahan said that after the rescue, they sent the cat to the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park, situated in the heart of Dulahazara Union in Chakaria Upazila of Cox’s Bazar, later in the evening.
“The wild animal will be quarantined for 14 days at the park’s hospital and after that, it will be released into the safari park,” she said.
She added, “Leopard cats typically live in bushes. This female adult leopard cat may have lost its habitat due to bush clearing around the construction site.
“We do not know when and from where the endangered animal came to the locality. Therefore, we decided to release it in the safari park instead of the forest. There are natural habitats for leopards in the safari park, and once released, it can find a mate there,” Noor Jahan further explained.
Although about the size of a domestic house cat, the leopard cat has longer legs, a relatively small head with a short, narrow muzzle, and moderately long, rounded ears.
The background color of the coat is tawny or pale silvery grey and the under-parts white, but the color and pattern of the markings vary widely. Black spots of varying size and shape cover the body and limbs, including the tail. The head is marked with two prominent dark stripes that extend from the inner corner of each eye to the base of the ear.
