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Rusty-spotted Cat Project Trained 50 Bonda Households in Sustainable Agriculture

Rusty-spotted cat in the Anamalai Hills, South India
Conservation · Management

A community conservation programme at the Odisha–Telangana border combined wildlife awareness with livelihood support for people living alongside the rusty-spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus). In a project update published on 15 March 2026, the Rusty-Spotted Cat Working Group reported that awareness events had engaged 80 members of Bonda communities, from elders to children.

The programme also trained 50 households in sustainable agriculture and provided vegetable seeds. The project update says the increased vegetable harvest was helping strengthen local livelihoods while reducing reliance on hunting. The group described the approach as a way to link protection of wildlife with community priorities rather than treating conservation as a separate restriction.

The update says participating community members now identified themselves as the primary protectors of the rusty-spotted cat. The Rusty-Spotted Cat Working Group works across Nepal, India and Sri Lanka and includes sustainable livelihoods and community engagement among its conservation approaches.

Sources and image credit

  1. Pandey, M. (2026, March 15). Bonda Tribe: Shifting from Hunting to Stewardship. In J. Sanderson, SWCCF News 2026 03. Small Wild Cat Conservation Foundation / Big Cat Rescue.Primary project update by Mitra Pandey of the Rusty-Spotted Cat Working Group. Reports awareness events involving 80 people and sustainable-agriculture training plus vegetable seeds for 50 Bonda households at the Odisha–Telangana border.
  2. Rusty-Spotted Cat Working Group. (2026). About Us.Official description of the network’s conservation mission, including community engagement and sustainable livelihoods in the species’ range countries.

Image: Rusty-spotted cat in the Anamalai Hills, South India. Representative image; not from the Odisha–Telangana project area. Photo: Shankar Raman / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0. · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

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