Survey captures first photo of Pallas's cat in Arunachal

NEW DELHI: A wildlife survey in Arunachal Pradesh has provided the first photographic evidence of the elusive Pallas's cat in the state, reaffirming the eastern Himalayas' status as a global biodiversity hotspot .

The WWF-India survey, conducted with state forest department, also recorded snow leopard, common leopard, clouded leopard and marbled cat above 4,200 metres, underlining the region's unique wild cat diversity.

"The discovery of Pallas's cat in Arunachal at nearly 5,000 metres is a powerful reminder of how little we still know about life in the high Himalayas," said Rishi Kumar Sharma, head-science and conservation, Himalayas programme, WWF-India.

Pallas's cat, among the most elusive and least studied wild cats, has now been documented in Arunachal, extending its known eastern Himalayan range beyond Sikkim & Bhutan.