WWF survey reveals Pallas's cat, 5 other wild cats 4,200 km above sea level in Arunachal

New Delhi, Sep 8 (PTI) Camera traps have recorded the first photographic evidence of the elusive Pallas's cat high in the icy rangelands of Arunachal Pradesh, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said on Monday.

The survey by WWF-India also captured images of five other wild cats, including snow leopard, clouded leopard, leopard cat, common leopard and marbled cat, at altitudes above 4,200 metres.

WWF-India carried out the survey under its project 'Reviving Trans-Himalayan Rangelands - A Community-led Vision for People and Nature', funded by the UK government through the Darwin Initiative with guidance from local communities and support from the Arunachal Pradesh's forest department.

The field team comprising Rohan Pandit, Taku Sai, Nisam Luxom and Pemba Tsering Romo under the guidance of Rishi Kumar Sharma, head for science and conservation, Himalayas Programme, deployed 136 camera traps at 83 locations across about 2,000 sq km of high-altitude rangelands in West Kameng and Tawang districts.

The cameras were set up between July and September 2024 and stayed active for more than eight months, often in extreme weather and difficult terrain.

The survey documented several new elevation records for India. The common leopard was recorded at 4,600 metres above sea level (masl), the clouded leopard at 4,650 masl, the marbled cat at 4,326 masl, the Himalayan wood owl at 4,194 masl and the grey-headed flying squirrel at 4,506 masl.

WWF-India said these may be the highest elevation records in the country and could exceed previously known global limits for some species.

The Pallas's cat record is slightly lower than the known global maximum of about 5,050 masl but is still highly significant, it said in a statement.

The finding extends the known distribution of this cold-adapted, rarely photographed species in the eastern Himalaya and adds to earlier confirmed records from Sikkim, Bhutan and eastern Nepal.

Camera traps also revealed a snow leopard and a common leopard scent-marking at the same location.

Taku Sai, senior project officer, WWF-India, said, "The findings of this survey are remarkable and the discovery of multiple wild cats at such extreme elevations opens exciting new opportunities for ecological research and conservation." Rishi Sharma of Himalayas Programme said that the discovery of Pallas's cat in Arunachal Pradesh at nearly 5,000 metres is a powerful reminder of "how little we still know about life in the high Himalayas".

That a landscape can support snow leopards, clouded leopards, marbled cats and now Pallas's cat alongside vibrant pastoral traditions speaks to its extraordinary richness and resilience, he said.

Ngilyang Tam, PCCF and CWLW (Wildlife and Biodiversity), Forest Department, Arunachal Pradesh, described the record as a milestone for wildlife research in the eastern Himalayas and called for continued investment in scientific monitoring and conservation. PTI GVS GVS KVK KVK