Assam: Three abandoned jungle cat kittens rehabilitated at CWRC, kaziranga
Upon realising, they were in fact wild cats, he promptly handed them over to the Forest Department.
KAZIRANGA- Three jungle cat kittens were found in the backyard of a villager’s house in the Chapanala area of Nagaon territorial Division of Assam. Initially mistaking them for domesticated cats and noticing no sign of the mother, the villager brought them home.
Upon realising, they were in fact wild cats, he promptly handed them over to the Forest Department.
As they were found to be in poor health and suffering from severe dehydration, the kittens were admitted to the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) operated jointly by the Assam Forest Department, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) near Kaziranga.
Dr. Bhaskar Chaudhury, CWRC Centre Manager and the lead veterinarian, WTI. said, “The kittens, two females and one male, are approximately a month old and weigh between 200 and 270 grams. They are being fed a diet of kitten milk replacer and minced meat. Once they are healthy and strong enough to survive in the wild, we will release them.”
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One of the most common wild cats in India, the Jungle cat, inhabits a variety of habitats like swamps, wetlands, flood plains as well as human-dominated landscapes. As opportunistic hunters, these wild cats primarily target rodents, poultry, and small mammals, often leading to conflicts with humans who rely on their poultry for sustenance.
This species is faced with threats such as hunting for its skin, agricultural and forestry effluents, habitat fragmentation, loss of prey base and human-wildlife conflict. They are listed as Schedule II species under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
