Leopard cats, lion-tailed macaque - new entrants at Mysore zoo

Mysore, Nov 1 (UNI) The century-old Mysore zoo received two male leopard cats and a female lion-tailed macaque from the Mangalore zoo as part of an exchange programme.

In a release here yesterday, Zoo Executive Director G V Ranga Rao said in exchange, the Mysore zoo would give a pair of lions from its surplus stock and the same had been approved by the Central Zoo Authority.

The Mysore zoo did not have a leopard cat at present and though it had two male and three female lion-tailed macaques, all the females were aged. Hence, the new entrant would be useful in breeding programmes, he said.

The Asian leopard cat was found across India, China, Korea, the Far East countries, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan and Borneo. The widespread habitat of the Asian leopard cat had led to different names such as the Javan cat, Wagati cat and Chinese cat or 'Money cat', so called because the spots resembled Chinese coins.

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