In Search of the Elusive Indian Desert Cat

Alongside its history, rich culture, and scrumptious cuisine, one of the most alluring aspects of Rajasthan’s desert landscape often goes unnoticed — its skies. In the day, the sky looks like a humble painting, with clusters of clouds scattered across a pale blue background. But, at nightfall, it transforms into a mesmerising canvas of constellations, creating an unparalleled celestial display. During my visit to Jaisalmer in December 2022, I got to experience this magic first-hand. Thanks to our vehicle breaking down in the middle of nowhere, I was surrounded by an open, starry sky with occasional screeches of desert foxes and the soft “chuck-chuck” of nightjars. It was music to my ears as I sat there. I realised that the notion of a desert devoid of life was far from true. Instead, it was teeming with captivating creatures waiting to be discovered. Little did I know I was about to uncover one of its best-kept secrets.

After our rescue vehicle picked us up, the ride back was refreshing. A crisp December breeze offered a welcoming, much-needed respite from the long day. And just when everything seemed peaceful, I spotted something gleaming on the road ahead. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions and waved it off as a reflective road marker. But then, the glowing eyes vanished and reappeared in a different place. Something was definitely on the move.

“Cat!” my driver exclaimed and slammed on the brakes. Illuminated by the vehicle’s headlights, we watched a small cat-like creature dart across the road into the euphorbia bushes nearby. Excited by this unexpected sighting, we grabbed our torches and focused them on a nearby sand dune. To our delight, we caught a fleeting glimpse of a small animal scurrying very close to the ground before vanishing into the darkness. Although it never stopped to look back at us, we knew it was what we had been looking for — the elusive desert cat.

The Indian desert cat (Felis lybica ornata) is also called the Asiatic wildcat or the Asian steppe wildcat. This house cat-sized feline is widely distributed across southwestern and central Asia, Pakistan, India, Mongolia and China. In India, it is primarily found in arid and semi-arid zones of western India (Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and parts of Maharashtra). However, the best place to spot it in India is in Desert National Park (DNP) in Rajasthan. This cat prefers living in the seemingly hostile conditions of Rajasthan where it has messy kair (Capparis decidua) or thorny euphorbia bushes (Euphorbia caducifolia) to rest under, dunes to make burrows in, and an ample supply of its favourite prey, the Indian desert jird (Meriones hurrianae).

After a brief encounter with this rarely-seen wildcat on my first night, my guide Musa Khan and I spent the next two days looking for it, searching the entire area high and low. But to no avail. Just as I was losing hope, Musa received vague reports of a desert cat spotted in broad daylight on the outskirts of Pokhran, a small village in Rajasthan. Being optimistic, he said, “Cat ka koi bharosa nahi hai, lekin hum poora try karenge.” (It’s difficult to track the cat, but we’ll try our best). And so, we embarked on a 2.5-hour journey from Sam to Pokhran, hoping to see the cat.

Driving through Pokhran, I noticed the stark difference between this area and DNP. While DNP boasted an undulating landscape with few trees, Pokhran is somewhat plain terrain with more vegetation. It made me wonder how numerous plants and animals adapt to living in a hostile desert habitat and its various niches. My train of thought was abruptly interrupted when our local guide, Radheshyam Bishnoi, shouted, “Woh dekho!” (Look there!) and pointed towards a figure walking across the dunes — a desert cat.

Under the bright afternoon sun, the unique wildcat was a sight to behold. Its sandy-coloured fur, speckled with small, round spots, reminded me of a cheetah. The closer I looked, the more I realised how distinct this cat was from all the others. I saw two narrow black lines near its eyes, with the upper one elongated compared to the lower one. It had a dark red nose and fairly long whiskers. Small tufts of hair were present on its pointy ears. I could see a cream-white underside as it lay down, which contrasted with the bold black bands on its legs. Its long, tapering tail was adorned with two to five black rings, culminating in a striking black tip. From afar, we watched the cat carefully lick and groom itself under the shade of a kair tree. Once done, it disappeared into a nearby burrow, perhaps for an afternoon siesta.

On our way back, Musa told me fascinating stories of the numerous desert cats he had encountered and how each cat he saw, had an entirely different coat colour. Turns out that a cat’s coat colour is influenced by the region it inhabits. Most desert species are pale compared to their sister species (or sometimes even within the same species). Cats living in arid regions typically have paler fur, and those in humid areas tend to have darker, more heavily striped and spotted coats. This adaptation allows them to blend in with their surroundings and remain undetected while hunting prey. He also explained how these animals have evolved to survive the hostile desert environment. They can walk on the scorching hot sand without burning their paws, thanks to the dense, soft hair covering the pads of their forelimbs. With the help of this remarkable adaptation, they can travel far and wide across the vast desert as true masters of their environment.

On my last safari in DNP, a group of shepherds told us an intriguing story about a unique individual cat. It piqued my interest, and I wanted to see it myself. As the sun began to set and the cold desert wind picked up, one of the kind shepherds brewed us some tea and placed a small bowl of milk nearby. Sitting there sipping the hot tea, we heard a raspy, distinctive meowing from the nearby bushes. To my surprise, a petite young cat emerged from the shadows.

At first glance, it looked like any other domestic cat, but upon closer inspection, it had many physical features similar to the desert cat — a spotted body, long pointy ears with ear tufts, and a black-tipped tail with rings on it. Further, its meowing tone and gait (a low, almost stealthy, staying close to the ground) suggested untamed wildcat genes. The shepherds informed us that even though they had been feeding this cat since it was young, it refused to let anyone touch it. They also believed it lived in a nearby burrow, which was unusual for a domestic cat but perfectly normal for a desert cat.

The appearance and behaviour of this cat were unlike any I had ever seen before, and I wondered if it was indeed a desert cat-domestic cat hybrid. However, alongside my fascination, I felt a slight twinge of fear. The frequent interbreeding of desert and domestic cats could pose a grave threat to the purebred desert cat population. Along with this, loss of habitat, poaching, retaliatory killing, and becoming accidental road kill are major threats to this species. Can a species that has braved the odds and survived in such a harsh and inhospitable terrain survive the onslaught of human-made dangers?