Rusty Spotted Cat:

they call it the rusty spotted cat but its hunting skills and its claws are razor sharp locals might spend their whole lives without seeing one for many prey across the region it's the last thing they'll ever see this is The Little Prince of Darkness the lightest cat in the world the rusty spotted cat. Hi I'm Danielle dufoe and you're watching animal Logic the rusty spotted cat is the smallest cat species in the world they're so small and graceful that they've been called the hummingbirds of cats but they're also so rare and beautiful that you could call them the fairies of the feline World Rusty spotted cats are so tiny and so good at hiding that they rarely get spotted even though they have a gigantic range throughout South Asia they live south of the Himalayas from Nepal to Sri Lanka and the vast forests of India are home to the majority of their population there are an estimated 10 000 of these tiny cats in the wild but very little is known about them and that's for a couple of reasons first of all is their size they're slightly shorter than an average house cat but they're also much leaner in fact they're the lightest cats in the world adult male Rusty spotted cats weigh just about 1.5 kilos while a domestic Tomcat can be four times heavier they need that at Birth they weigh less than a chicken egg their title of world's smallest cat is somewhat in dispute as while they are the lightest cat in the world the guinea of South America and the black-footed cat of southern Africa are both shorter than the rusty spotted cat so it depends on how you define smallest but despite their size they are lethal Predators with Incredible Speed and Agility 19th century naturalists who kept them captive commented on their climbing skills and amazing ability to catch squirrels in trees while squirrels and birds nests are an option the rusty spotted cat's favorite prey are frogs lizards and small mammals in the forest it's easy to sneak up on unsuspecting prey but in the open grassland it requires both stealth and speed foreign this male uses cover of Darkness to look for its next meal quietly makes its way into open grassland where its prey is easier to spot finally it sees something delicious a gerbil the cat needs to get closer before it pounces and luckily for him a small ditch provides cover the thing isn't right the cat attacks it's a short Chase dinner is served beside their ninja-like combination of speed and stealth they have a level of self-confidence that I can only aspire to dress for the job you want there are reports of Rusty's pouncing on much larger animals like baby deer and only letting go when being physically pulled off they're pretty badass they've got that Lion in them another reason for their success is how they've been able to adapt to several different ecosystems they live in deciduous forests Hill slopes and shrub lands and more recently they've become neighbors with humans they have adapted to low density Farmland which makes sense since Farms give them access to livestock and to rodents their favorite prey Farmland also provides good dining spots for moms who will feed and protect her kittens until they're old enough to catch meals for themselves Rusty's sometimes munch on poultry but these attacks are far less common than those perpetrated by their cousins the leopard cats who are well-known chicken killers nebula unfortunately many farmers have a blanket no cat policy on their farms and will often shoot on site Rusty spotted cats share some of their habitats with some of their closest relatives fishing cats and leopard cats both of these cats are larger than the rusty spotted cat and have vast ranges this makes it easier for them to cross swamps they're fairly similar cats from the same genus and had a common ancestor about 8 million years ago Rusty's were the first species to diverge from the rest of the genus about 6 million years ago ever since then they've established themselves as being one of the most widespread and resilient cats in South Asia so what should we talk about next please let me know in the comments and be sure to subscribe for new episodes every week thanks for watching see ya