Jungle Cat

• Scientific name: Felis chaus
• English Name: Jungle Cat
• Sinhala Name: වල් බළලා / Vul Balala
• Tamil Name: காட்டுப் பூனை / Kāttu Pūnei

• Average adult weight: 3-8 kg
• Size comparison: About the height of an average street dog

Jungle cats are the largest living member of the Felis species. They can get to about 3-4 times the size of a domestic cat and their lanky build resembles that of a serval. Depending on its range country, the species’ coat colouring varies between a uniform, unspotted reddish or sandy brown, to a tawny grey. However, some individuals do have a speckled look to their coats, which is caused by the fine black-tips of guard hairs. Like most other feline species, kittens are spotted and striped at birth, and lose these markings once they reach sexual maturity. The only markings retained as adults are the dark arm bands on the forelimbs and hindlimbs (a visible marker of the species), and very faint rings towards the end of the tail.

They have long, slender faces with a bright white muzzle, white lines above and below the eyes, and tear lines in front of their eyes and along the side of the nose. Unlike the fishing cat and the rusty-spotted cat, the back of a jungle cat’s ears have no distinct spots. Their ears are set close together at the top of their head and are topped with a tuft of short – but distinct – black hairs. Its ear tufts, long limbs and short tail, caused scientists to originally assume that the species was related to lynxes. However they were later included in the genus Felis.

Jungle cats are one of the 11 species of melanistic wild cat, meaning that in rare cases, an individual can be completely black. Melanistic jungle cats have been recorded in the wild – regularly occurring in southeastern Pakistan – and in captivity.

Image by: Heshan Peiris

Habitat loss for industrialisation, urbanisation and large scale agricultural purposes is the biggest threat faced by the species throughout their range.

The trapping, snaring and poisoning of jungle cats around agricultural and rural areas have also played a large role in the species’ decline. Before the species was placed under legal protection in India in 1979, large numbers of jungle cat skins were traded and exported. In some range countries in South Asia, Egypt and Afghanistan, the species is still illegally traded.

Image by: Saranga Dissanayake

Jungle cat hunted and killed in the guise of ritual hunting, in India. Image by: Human & Environment Alliance League

There are cases of illegal trade and hunting in India and other range countries in South Asia.

The species is listed on CITES Appendix ll, and is protected from hunting in some range states in India. In others, it receives no protection outside protected areas. In 2009, the species was placed on Afghanistan’s Protected Species List, and since then the species has received legal protection from all hunting and trade.

In Sri Lanka, the jungle cat is protected in the Fauna and Flora Protection (Amendment) Act, No. 22 of 2009, under Schedule ll, listing the species as a strictly protected mammal.

The ecology and status of the jungle cat is poorly understood, and in Southwest and Southeast Asia, where it is considered a rare and declining species, much more research needs to be undertaken in order to gain better knowledge of the species’ current distribution, both inside and outside protected areas.

In many range countries, the species is considered a pest, as it preys on poultry. Thus, better conservation and advocacy is needed in these areas so that locals can be convinced to cease trapping and poisoning  these animals. These communities may also need help protecting their poultry from jungle cats.

Image by: Ravihara Jeewakarathne