Wild Cats of Sri Lanka

Wild Cats of Sri Lanka

Of the 91 species of native mammals in Sri Lanka, 14 species belong to the order Carnivora while four of them are members of the family Felid (Miththapala, 2006). They include the Leopard ( Panthera pardus kotiya ), the Fishing Cat ( Prionailurus viverrinus ), the Jungle Cat ( Felis chaus ) and the Rusty-spotted Cat [( Prionailurus rubiginosa ) Miththapala, 2006]. Of them, the leopard is a medium-sized cat with a body mass of 40-60 kg while the fishing cat, jungle cat, and rusty-spotted cat are small cats with a body mass of less than 20 kg (Miththapala, 2006). Therefore, the leopard can be distinguished easily from the other wild cats in the country by its larger size. Leopard The leopard is the largest of the four wild cats with an average head and body length of 91-191 cm and an average mass of 37-90 kg for males and 28-60 kg for females (Miththapala, 2006). Its golden tawny coat is marked with clusters of spots called dark brown/black rosettes (Miththapala, 2006). The leopard found in Sri L…