The Jungle Cat

Felis Chaus

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Wildlife India

As dusk falls over the jungle, you might spot a cat with glowing yellow eyes streak across your line of sight. This is the Jungle Cat, a medium sized feline that inhabits several forests in India.

Prolific across India and West Asia and even parts of North Africa, the Jungle Cat is a compact creature. In India, the colour of its coat varies between a sandy brown all the way to a dark grey.

Unlike some feline species, the Jungle Cat loves water and is an agile swimmer, diving into rivers to catch fish.

You often find them in wetlands, or places where there is dense undergrowth. They are generally solitary hunters and eat rodents.

However, during mating season you are likely to hear their loud shrieks and growls during mating season.

Territorial males often fight with one another to show their dominance. Central India has a large population of these cats and you are extremely likely to spot them in parks like Pench, Satpura, Bandhavgarh and Panna.