{"id":359407,"date":"2026-03-30T17:46:30","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T12:16:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=359407"},"modified":"2026-03-30T17:46:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T12:16:30","slug":"jungle-cats-felis-chaus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/jungle-cats-felis-chaus\/","title":{"rendered":"Jungle Cats (Felis chaus)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>News: <\/strong>A new study published in Scientific Reports provides baseline data on jungle cat population, habitat preference, and conservation needs in India.<\/p>\n<h2>About Jungle Cats (Felis chaus)<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_359415\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-359415\" style=\"width: 412px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-359415\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Source-Wild-Cat-Family.jpg?resize=412%2C246&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Jungle Cats (Felis chaus)\" width=\"412\" height=\"246\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Source-Wild-Cat-Family.jpg?resize=300%2C179&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Source-Wild-Cat-Family.jpg?resize=1024%2C612&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Source-Wild-Cat-Family.jpg?resize=768%2C459&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Source-Wild-Cat-Family.jpg?w=1272&amp;ssl=1 1272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 412px) 100vw, 412px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-359415\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source &#8211; Wild Cat Family<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li>The jungle cat is a medium-sized wild cat found in diverse habitats across Asia.<\/li>\n<li><strong>S<\/strong><strong>cientific name<\/strong><strong>: <\/strong>The scientific name of the <strong>jungle cat is <\/strong><strong><em>Felis chaus<\/em><\/strong><strong>.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Naming<\/strong>: Its name comes from the <strong>Caucasus Mountains<\/strong>, where it was first discovered, and it is <strong>also called Swamp Cat or Reed Cat.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Habitat<\/strong><strong>s<\/strong>: They inhabit <strong>grasslands, wetlands, and deserts<\/strong>, while <strong>avoiding dense forests and heavily modified landscapes<\/strong>, and preferring <strong>agro-pastoral and open habitats.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Distribution<\/strong> : Jungle cats are found across <strong>Asia, including Egypt, southwest Asia, southeast Asia, Central Asia, and southern China.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>In India<\/strong> : India supports large populations, with highest numbers in <strong>Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Odisha across 21 States.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Characteristics<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Appearance:<\/strong> The jungle cat has a white<strong> muzzle, yellow irises, and large ears ending in black tufts<\/strong>.\n<ul>\n<li>It has <strong>long legs<\/strong> and <strong>faint stripes<\/strong> on its body, which give it a distinct look among small cats.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Adaptability:<\/strong> It can <strong>survive in areas with moderate human presence, <\/strong>but it avoids places with high population density and intense disturbance.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Diet:<\/strong> It is a <strong>carnivorous animal that mainly feeds on rodents<\/strong>.\n<ul>\n<li>It also eats lizards, frogs, snakes, and sometimes livestock depending on availability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Social behaviour:<\/strong> It is <strong>not nocturnal in nature <\/strong>and carries out most of its hunting activities during the early morning and late afternoon periods.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ecological role<\/strong><strong>:<\/strong> Jungle cats help <strong>control rodent populations in agricultural areas<\/strong>, which reduces crop damage and supports farming systems in agro-pastoral landscapes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Threats<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Habitat fragmentation<\/li>\n<li>Urbanisation, roads, poaching, stray dogs<\/li>\n<li>Possible hybridisation with domestic cats<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Conservation status<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>IUCN Red List:<\/strong> It\u00a0 is classified as <strong>Least Concern.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972:<\/strong> It is <strong>listed under Schedule II.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News: A new study published in Scientific Reports provides baseline data on jungle cat population, habitat preference, and conservation needs in India. About Jungle Cats (Felis chaus) The jungle cat is a medium-sized wild cat found in diverse habitats across Asia. Scientific name: The scientific name of the jungle cat is Felis chaus. Naming: Its&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/jungle-cats-felis-chaus\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Jungle Cats (Felis chaus)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10393,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1566,4182,12039,11834],"tags":[11872],"class_list":["post-359407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-factly-articles","category-environment","category-knolls","category-species-in-news","tag-9pm-daily-factly","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10393"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359407\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}