A team comprising officials from the Assam Forest Department and conservationists from Aaranyak, a prominent biodiversity conservation organization, has confirmed the presence of the Asiatic golden cat (Catopuma temminckii) in the Manas National Park.
Two photographic captures of the species were made in December 2019 and January 2021, following the camera trapping efforts of the forest department, Aaranyak, and Panthera reconfirming its presence in the park.
"Despite the species expected to occur in the region based on a direct sighting made in 2007, an intensive annual systematic camera trapping effort of 39,700 trap days over eight years between 2011 and 2018 yielded no records," stated a press release from Aaranyak.
"Nevertheless, two photographic captures of the species were made in December 2019 and January 2021, following the camera trapping efforts of Assam Forest Department, Aaranyak, and Panthera reconfirming its presence in the park following the end of the ethnopolitical conflict in Manas National Park," noted Dr. M Firoz Ahmed, one of the lead authors of the research paper.
The findings were published in the summer 2024 edition of CATNews, a publication of the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group, part of the Species Survival Commission of the IUCN. Dr. M Firoz Ahmed, alongside Senior Conservation Biologist Dr. Dipankar Lahkar, and other conservationists -including Amal Chandra Sarmah, Dr. Ramie H Begum, Aprajita Singh, Nibir Medhi, Nitul Kalita, Sunit Kumar Das, and Dr. Abishek Harihar- contributed to this research, as highlighted in the release.
"The Asiatic golden cat is a medium-sized felid with a distribution range spanning the northeastern Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and southern China. Listed as Near Threatened in the IUCN Red List, the species is protected under Scheduled-I of India's Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972," the release stated.
According to Aaranyak, this species inhabits various habitats, including dry deciduous forests, subtropical evergreen forests, tropical rainforests, temperate and sub-alpine forests, at elevations ranging from 0 m to 3,738 m.
"In North-east India, the species is recorded from Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve of Sikkim, Buxa Tiger Reserve of north Bengal, Nongkhyllem Wildlife Sanctuary, east Garo, South Garo, and Jaintia hills of Meghalaya; Dampha Tiger Reserve of Mizoram, Namdapha Tiger Reserve, Kamlang Tiger Reserve, Debang Valley, Pakke Tiger Reserve, Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, Singchung-Bugun VCR, and Talle-Valley Wildlife Sanctuary of Arunachal Pradesh, Intanki National Park of Nagaland, and others," the release added.