On June 25, when a caretaker went to clean the cage, other cats except Bhagya quickly came out of the box.
Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) lost one of its captive, a rusty spotted cat named Bhagya. The cats are the smallest species of cat in the world. Five-year old Bhagya was found dead on June 25.
After Bhagya, the park has four rusty-spotted cats — a female and three males. SGNP, in 2013, had initiated its most ambitious project — captive breeding programme — for the cats but it did not yield any success as after 2013 the cats have never bred.
On June 25, when a caretaker went to clean the cage, other cats except Bhagya quickly came out of the box. Following no response from Bhagya despite knocking on the cage, the caretaker alerted the park officials, who found Bhagya lying still.
"The post mortem conducted on June 25 revealed that he died of toxaemia, which was caused by a wound on his leg. Since these are shy and nocturnal animal and mostly keep themselves hidden in the small box like enclosures built for them, the injury was never known, giving us no chance of treatment," said Dr Shailesh Pethe, Veterinary Officer for SGNP. He said that the injury is suspected to have been caused during one of the fights amongst the cats.
It was in 2005 when, for the first time, two rusty spotted kittens were brought to SGNP after they were found abandoned, and were later named Sachin and Anjali. They had given birth, and a few more abandoned rusty cats were brought into shelter here, following which the SGNP had launched the captive breeding programme for the cats with the help of Pune-based expert Dr Erach Bharucha.
The cats are tiny but are extremely ferocious. They are nocturnal creatures and partly arboreal, feeding mainly on rodents and birds, and are listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
SGNP'S RUSTY FAMILY
November 2005 - Sachin and Anjali found from Tungareshwar forest and brought to SGNP
January 2009 - Vedika found from Satara forest and brought to SGNP
November 2013 - Satyam, Shivam Sundaram born at SGNP
July 2013 - Bhagya born at SGNP
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Rusty-spotted cat")
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}