Malaysia: Leopard cat found dead by the road

P. Chandra Sagaran New Straits Times 27 Mar 11;http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

SUNGAI SIPUT: A Tamil Daily journalist on his way to an assignment in Ipoh, found the carcass of a Leopard Cat or Kucing Batu on the roadside yesterday.

S. Lingeswaran, 26, from Makkal Osai, and his brother Uthayakanthan, 15, were on their way to attend a convocation ceremony at Politeknik Ungku Omar in Ipoh at 8.30am, when they spotted the dead animal near a cement factory off Jalan Kanthan-Ipoh.

"I saw it lying by the roadside but it was already dead. I called the Civil Defence Department who later sent a team to remove the carcass."

Leopard Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis), also known as Bengal Cat, is a small wild cat of South and East Asia.

The name is derived from the leopard-like spots prevalent in all sub-species, but its relation to the leopard is distant.

Sungai Siput Civil Defence Department coordinator, A. Balasundram, said the carcass was taken to the Kanthan police station where it was later buried.