Leopard cat rescued in Dharan after being mistaken for tiger cub

ITAHARI: A leopard cat was found in Dharan on Tuesday evening.

According to police, the small mammal was found in the Hattisar area of Dharan Sub-metropolitan City-15 at around 7:30 pm.

Locals initially mistook the animal for a tiger cub.

Three local youths — Yusan Rai (18), Siman Rai (18) and Aman Limbu (17) found the animal and handed it over to the police. Police later transferred it to the Division Forest Office, Dharan.

Although locals told the police they had found a Royal Bengal tiger cub, Forest Guard Lal Bahadur Shrestha confirmed that it was actually a leopard cat.

“This is a species of wild cat. Although people call it a tiger, it’s actually a leopard cat — about the size of a domestic cat,” he said. “It is mostly found in the forests of Ramdhuni in Sunsari district and appears to have wandered into Dharan.”

He said the female leopard cat weighed around 1.5 kilograms.

Forest officials are currently discussing whether to send the animal to a national park for protection or release it back into the forest.

According to DSP Bhishan Babu Rai of the Area Police Office, Dharan, locals captured the animal on the road and handed it over to the police. “At first, people assumed it was a tiger cub because of its appearance,” he said.

The leopard cat is native to the forests of the Tarai region and is listed as a protected species under Nepal’s National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1973. The species is found in most community and national forests across eastern Nepal.