RAS question
In which Rajasthan tiger reserve was a Fishing Cat spotted for the first time in September 2025?
Correct answer: (C) Ramgarh Vishdhari.
A Fishing Cat was spotted for the first time in Rajasthan's Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve in September 2025.
Explanation
The first recorded Fishing Cat sighting was in Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve, not in Rajasthan's older and better-known tiger reserves. The Times of India reported that the animal was captured on camera during routine tiger monitoring by the RVTR field biologist and the Dalelpura tiger tracking team. The evidence came from the Ramgarh Range in Bundi, where the sighting occurred during routine monitoring in Bundi district. This matters because the sighting added to RVTR's small cat records: until then, it had four recorded small cat species, and the Fishing Cat made it five. The conservation signal is also tied to habitat, as the species is associated with wetland and riverine ecosystems.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Mukundra Hills is wrong because the report places the first camera-trap sighting in Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve's Ramgarh Range, not in Mukundra Hills.
- (B) Ranthambore is wrong because the article identifies RVTR in Bundi as the reserve where the Fishing Cat was first recorded.
- (D) Sariska is wrong because the reported monitoring evidence came from Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve, with no sighting attributed to Sariska.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan geography through wildlife reserves, biodiversity records and current environment events. Such questions recur in RAS because state-specific protected areas and species sightings link map knowledge with conservation news.