Rusty spotted Cat

[Bibhav Behera]

Spotted this guy peering through the trees while I was taking a walk in one of the coffee estates in Chickmanglur. Once it realised it had been spotted, it immediately scooted off into denser vegetation. I couldn't spot it afterwards.

Canon EOS 7D, 300mm
1/80
f/5.6
ISO 800

Full frame image.

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Nice one. Lovely eye contact. This image portrays the shy nature of the jungle cat well.

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Nice image. Lovely eyes. Is it not the Rusty-Spotted Cat (Felis rubiginosus) ? I could not locate the small black tufts on the ears in this image. Thanks for sharing.SaktiWild

[Bibhav Behera]

I didn't get a proper view of it but do recollect the tail having a bit of barring. Hadn't thought of the Rusty spotted Cat angle. Thanks for clarifying. I will try and get an ID confirmation.

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Interesting notion. Does look a lot like a rusty spotted cat from what is visible. You should be able to tell from the size in my opinion- rusty spotted cats are tiny, jungle cats are much larger and heftier. Also, the jungle cat has a distinctly short tail, unlike the rusty spotted cat.

[Bibhav Behera]

This definitely was a small guy and had a decently long tail with spots/barring.

[Rajbir Oberoi]

interesting frame, gives you a feeling as if somebody is keeping an eye on it ( WONG KAR WAI STYLE )

[Mrudul Godbole]

Lovely stare. The vertical composition works nicely here. Nicely captured. Thanks for sharing.

[Roopak Gangadharan]

Tough one. It seems to have the typical stripes on the forehead and whites around the eye of a rusty, but the coat color and pattern to the extent visable look different. Also the shape of the head and placement of ears.typically rusties have some white on the neck extending down to the breast and legs, can't see this here. My feeling is it is either a hybrid or a house cat. I have sent this to a friend who is good with small cats. Will let you know. TFS. Roopak

[Sabyasachi Patra]

I agree with Roopak. Initially I had thought that this is a domestic cat. The ears are more rounded like the domestic cat. The jungle cat would have pointed ears with the ear tufts. The forehead stripes look like that of a rusty spotted cat. I somehow have an impression that the rusty spotted cat is more nocturnal unlike the jungle cat. This one may be a hybrid or domestic cat. It would have been great to see a view of the full body.