The rare wild animal, classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List since 2016, has been captured in one of the camera traps installed in the VDTR during the tiger estimation exercise in the reserve forest in 2024, a forest officer said here on Thursday.

The Madhya Pradesh forest department and World-Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature were carrying out the exercise for estimation of tigers and other wildlife species in the reserve forest.

This was part of the tiger census at the national level.

Identification of the wild cat species was 'confirmed by its distinctive features, such as short, rounded ears, large eyes, rusty brown spots, and a bushy tail', a WWF official said.

The findings have been published in a scientific paper -First photo record of a rusty-spotted cat in Veerangana Durgavati TR, India- by the Madhya Pradesh department and the WWF-India.

According to the scientific paper, the Madhya Pradesh forest department and the WWF-India conducted a camera-trap survey at VDTR between February and March 2024.

During the review, researchers discovered a rusty-spotted cat in a photo captured on March 12, 2024 in the Dongargaon range in the VDTR.

The cat was identified by its short body, rufous and greyish colouration, a bushy tail approximately half its body length, and short and rounded ears.

This was the first time the rare wild cat was spotted in the reserve.

The wild cat species has been found in southern India.

But its discovery in the VDTR has proved that the species also has its habitat in other parts of the country, the forest officer said.