The World’s Smallest Cat: A Peek at India & Sri Lanka’s Rusty-Spotted Cat

The internet is a cat-lover’s heaven. Be it on a blog, Facebook, YouTube (or something as simple as a Google search), the viewer will be inundated with images of cats, ranging from the domestic pet to documentaries on their larger, wild counterparts. However, there are more species of cat in the world than we’re aware of, and one precious species you might not be familiar with is the precious Rusty-Spotted Cat.

Source: BBC. Big Cats. Episode 1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05srpx8

The Rusty-Spotted Cat, also known as the world’s smallest cat, is a splendid little wild cat residing in India and Sri Lanka. Weighing in at only 2lb – 3.5lb, it is 14 to 19 inches in length, with a tail ranging from 5.9 to 11.8 inches. It could fit into the palm of your hand, and is roughly half the size of a typical domestic cat.

Its preferred habitat is moist or dry deciduous forests, bamboo forests, scrub and grassland. It favours dense vegetation and rocky areas, and is most likely absent from evergreen forests.

Observation of captive – and some wild – Rusty-Spotted cats has revealed that they are mainly nocturnal. They have frequently been spotted hiding in trees and caves. They are known as the Hummingbirds of cats because of their diminutive size and quick movements. They hunt relatively large animals, but feed on small creatures such as rodents and birds, as well as lizards, frogs and insects.

Don’t let their diminutive size fool you – they are keenly aware of the world around them. Despite being two-hundred times small than the Lion, their eyes are six times as powerful as ours, and they can distinguish up to a billion different odours. Their whiskers are rooted in a bed of nerves, making them highly sensitive to their surrounding environment.

Their fur is short and soft, with grizzled, brownish-grey upper parts, tinged with rufous spots. They have small, rounded heads, with a white stripe inside each eye. Their cheeks are white with several reddish-brown streaks, and their ears are short and rounded, with rufous-grey spots on the back. Their eyes are large and greyish brown or amber. They have short legs with black-soled feet. Kittens lack the rusty spotting, and have blue irises.

Rusty-Spotted cats mate from one to five minutes. Before birth, the female prepares a den in a secluded location. She produces a litter of one to three kittens, after a gestation period of sixty-five to seventy days. Kittens reach sexual maturity after sixty-eight weeks.

The longevity of wild cats is unknown, but captive Rusty-Spotted Cats have lived for up to twelve years.

 

Bibliography:

BBC. Big Cats, Episode 1. The World’s Smallest Cat. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05srpx8 Accessed January 18, 2018.

International Society for Endangered Cats, Canada. Rusty-Spotted Cat. https://wildcatconservation.org/wild-cats/asia/rusty-spotted-cat/ Accessed January 18, 2018.

 Wikipedia. Rusty-Spotted Cat. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rusty-spotted_cat Accessed January 18, 2018.

Wildscreen Arkive. Rusty-Spotted Cat. http://www.arkive.org/rusty-spotted-cat/prionailurus-rubiginosus/ Accessed January 18, 2018.

 

 

20 Facts about Wrens

1. The Wren is a member of the Troglodytidae family, meaning cave dweller. This is an apt name as they can often be found in cavities in buildings and trees.

2. There are other Wren species in North America, including the Bewick’s Wren, Carolina Wren and the House Wren.

3. The Eurasian Wren is the second-smallest bird in the U.K. and Ireland, larger only than the Goldcrest.

4. The Wren is the loudest bird in proportion to its size in Europe, and is the loudest bird of Britain and Ireland.
   

   

   

   

   

    Various Wrens singing their hearts out. Nicola Lopez Photography.
   

5. It weights about as much as a £1 coin.

6. There are an estimated 8.6 million breeding pairs found in the U.K., and 4 million in Ireland.

7. Their average lifespan is between two to three years. The oldest recorded was six years and eight months.

8. Wrens are mainly sedentary, but British Wrens have been found in France. Their diminutive size makes them susceptible to extreme cold.

9. In particularly harsh winters, Wrens are less territorial, roosting communally. Up to ten Wrens can be found in a nest box at night, and up to sixty have been recorded as sharing a single box. They will use open-fronted and hole boxes.

10. In Greek mythology, the Wren was regarded as King of the Birds. It flew higher than all other birds by tricking the Eagle, by hiding on its back.

11. In Druid folklore, the Wren’s feather was thought to be a charm against disaster or drowning.

12. Cock Wrens sing all year round, except when moulting. There are two distint sounds – a sweet, very loud song which establishes his territory and attracts a mate, and a warning tick.

13. Cock Wrens are extremely territorial, except, as above, in extremely cold conditions.

14. The Wren nests mostly in coniferous forests, but has also adapted to living in hedgerows, farmland, heath land, orchards, coastal cliffs, mountains, off-shore islands, parks, and gardens. 

15. The Wren feeds mainly on insects, eating the larvae as well as the fully-grown. For this reason, they won’t often be found feeding from bird tables. 

    

    This young Wren is keeping safe under cover. It is quite difficult to find them – you’re likely to hear them first.

16. The Wren has a slightly curved bill for probing in tree trunks, and on the ground for insects.

17. Males establish a breeding territory in early spring.
    

    

    Fledgling Wren. Thank you very much to Catherine Morrissey for allowing me use her beautiful photo. 

18. Cock Wrens build between six and seven – sometimes up to twelve – dome-shaped nests. The female lines the one she wants with moss, leaves and feathers. If she does not like the nest bases, or their territories, then she will build the nest herself.

19. Clutches are composed of six to eight eggs, and Wrens rear two broods per year, laying between April and June.

20. The female incubates the eggs and tends to the chicks in the nest. The male tends to the young by bringing them food and showing them where the roosting areas are in the evening.

5 Cute, Quirky & Wacky Pets

Animals are wonderful in so many ways. They impart joy not simply through how cute they look, but also from the wonderment and joy they get from the little things. ❤

1. These Cheezits are so precious, this squirrel is ensuring nobody ever finds them.

 

2. This otter who is in love with bath time.

 

3. This husky who got as bossy as a cat: “Bathe me, human. I will not comply.”

 

4. This Cockatoo enjoying Gangnam Style… immensely.

 

5. Cats who aren’t shy about showing their humans they love them.

20 Facts About Robins

In addition to being a popular garden visitor, the Robin is most well-known for its symbolism, being one of the most popular Christmas images since the nineteenth century, and also being considered by many as a spiritual visitor. This list hopes to illuminate the robin’s lifestyle and habits, showing that it’s not simply just a beautiful symbol, but a most wonderful and interesting species.

1. Each continent has its own robins. However, only the Japanese and Ryukyu robins are related.
2. The European robin used to be considered a member of the thrush family, although recently it has been reclassified as an Old World Flycatcher.
3. The European robin can be found across Eurasia, from as far east as Sibera, south to Algeria, west to the Azores and Madiera, and as south as the Caucasus.
4. Robins in Britain and Ireland are mainly resident, although some (mainly females) migrate further south for the winter.
5. The robin can sense the earth’s magnetic field, which is useful in navigation. It is believed that this is achieved by light entering the bird’s eye.
6. Robins are omnivorous, eating anything from insects to fruit. Its favourite bird-table offerings are mealworms, although it will also eat seeds and peanuts. Robins can often be spotted foraging for worms on the ground.
7. Both male and female robins hold their own territories in winter, so they both sing similar winter songs.
8. Despite being easily tamed by humans, robins are very territorial. Males are noted for their aggression, and will attack other males who are found in their territory. In some areas, territorial defence accounts for up to ten per cent of robin mortality.Male Robin defending his territory.
9. Robins do not like hole nest boxes (those favoured by the Tit family), but will nest in open-fronted boxes.
10. When he has found a mate, the male robin will court the female (strengthening their bond) by bringing her food, such as worms and caterpillars. This can be mistaken by the observer as a parent feeding its young, as the female begs noisily while quivering her wings.                   Male and Female Robin courting, the male just having fed her.
11. Most robin pairs will attempt to raise three broods per year.
12. Their nest is comprised of fine grass, hair and feathers for lining.
13. The female incubates the eggs for two weeks, with the male feeding her.
14. Clutches are composed of five or six eggs.
15. Juvenile robins have brown speckled feathers rather than the traditional red breast and grey belly, which they acquire after their first moult at about two months’ old. This is partly a safety measure against predation from other robins.

     

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16. The average life expectancy of a robin is 1.1 years, although this is because of their high mortality rate in their first year. It can expect to live longer if it makes it through a year.
17. Individual robins have unique breast patterns, making it possible to recognise them.
18. If you hear a bird singing around dusk, or even afterwards, it is most likely a robin. They are often the last birds to finish singing for the night, and are also the first to sing in the morning.
19. The American Robin is the official state bird of Connecticut, Michigan and Wisconsin.
20. The European Robin is the national bird of great Britain.