Hair Examination of Protected Cats: Forensic Perspective

Wild animals of the cat family 'Felidae' are the target animals of poachers and illegal traders, because of the high demand of their body parts and amount of money involved in it. Hair are the most commonly encountered physical evidence in the poaching and illegal trade of these animals in the form of fur/hides. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and The Wildlife (Protection) Act-1972 in India provides protection to the wild animals. Poaching and trade of any protected wild animal or its body part and products thereof is strictly prohibited and are punishable offenses under these laws. In order to prosecute an offender under law successfully, it is mandatory to identify the species of wild animal(s) involved correctly. In the present work, morphological, keratin protein and mitochondrial DNA analysis of hair of thirteen highly endangered and protected felid species found in India have been described and illustrated in detail. Species specific characteristics have been generated, which could be utilized to identify the species from hair samples.