Fishing Cat(Prionailurus viverrinus)
The fishing cat has a deep yellowish-grey fur with black lines and spots. Two stripes are on the cheeks, and two above the eyes running to the neck with broken lines on the forehead. It has two rows of spots around the throat. The spots on the shoulder are longitudinal, and those on the sides, limbs and tail are roundish. The background colour of its fur varies between individuals from yellowish tawny to ashy grey, and the size of the stripes from narrow to broad. The fur on the belly is lighter than on the back and sides.
The short and rounded ears are set low on the head, and the back of the ears bear a white spot. The tail is short, less than half the length of head and body, and with a few black rings at the end. As an aquatic adaptation, the fur is layered. A short, dense layer provides a water barrier and thermal insulation, while another layer of protruding long guard hairs provides its pattern and glossy sheen. It is about twice the size of a domestic cat and stocky and muscular with medium to short legs. Its head-to-body length ranges from 57-78 cm, with a tail of 20-30 cm. Female fishing cats range in weight from 5.1 to 6.8 kg, and males from 8.5-16 kg. Its skull is elongated, with a basal length of 123–153 mm and a post-orbital width of 27–31 mm. Its paws are less completely webbed than those of the leopard cat, and the claws are incompletely sheathed so that they protrude slightly when retracted. Webbed feet have often been noted as a characteristic of the fishing cat, but the webbing beneath the toes is not much more developed than that of a bobcat.
Habitat
The fishing cat is broadly but discontinuously distributed in South and Southeast Asia. It is strongly associated with wetlands, inhabiting swamps and marshy areas around oxbow lakes, reed beds, tidal creeks and mangrove forests; it seems less abundant around smaller, fast-moving watercourses. Most records are from lowland areas. In Pakistan's Sindh Province, the fishing cat was recorded in the Chotiari Dam area in 2012.
In the Nepal Terai, it has been recorded in Bardia, Chitwan and Parsa National Parks and in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve. In India, its presence has been documented in:
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Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, in Dudhwa and Valmiki Tiger Reserves, in Sur Sarovar Bird Sanctuary,
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outside protected areas in West Bengal, in Lothian Island Wildlife Sanctuary in the Sundarbans,
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In Odisha's Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary and coastal districts outside protected areas,
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In Andhra Pradesh's Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary, Krishna Wildlife Sanctuary and adjoining reserve forests.
Reports in Bangladeshi newspapers indicate that fishing cats live in all divisions of Bangladesh but are severely threatened; villagers killed at least 30 fishing cats between January 2010 and March 2013. In Sri Lanka, it has been recorded in multiple localities ranging from coastal to hilly regions. In Myanmar, it was recorded in the Ayeyarwady Delta in 2016 and 2018. In Thailand, its presence has been documented in Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park and Thale Noi Non-Hunting Area along the coast, and in Kaeng Krachan National Park. Between 2007 and 2016, it was also recorded near wetlands outside protected areas in Phitsanulok Province, Bang Khun Thian District, Samut Sakhon Province, Phetchaburi and Songkhla Provinces, and near a mangrove site in Pattani. In Cambodia, a single fishing cat was photographed by a camera trap in Kulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary in March 2003. In 2008, a fishing cat kitten was found in Botum-Sakor National Park. In 2015, it was also recorded in Peam Krasop Wildlife Sanctuary. The island of Java constitutes the southern limit of the fishing cat's range, but by the 1990s fishing cats were scarce and apparently restricted to tidal forests with sandy or muddy shores, older mangrove stands, and abandoned mangrove plantation areas with fishponds. There are no confirmed records from Peninsular Malaysia, Vietnam and Laos.
Diet
Fishing cats have been observed while hunting along edges of watercourses, grabbing prey from the water, sometimes diving into the water to catch prey further from the banks. Their main prey is fish; scat collected in India's Keoladeo National Park revealed that fish comprises approximately three-quarters of their diet, with the remainder consisting of birds, insects, and small rodents. Molluscs, reptiles including snakes, amphibians and carrion of domestic cattle supplement their diet.
Breeding
Wild fishing cats most likely mate during January and February; most kittens in the wild were observed in March and April. In captivity, the gestation period lasts 63–70 days; females give birth to two or three kittens. They weigh around 170 g at birth, and are able to actively move around by the age of one month. They begin to play in water and to take solid food when about two months old, but are not fully weaned until six months old. They reach full adult size when about eight and a half months old, acquire their adult canine teeth by 11 months, and are sexually mature when approximately 15 months old. They live up to 10 years in captivity.
Population
According to the IUCN Red List, they are classed as Vulnerable(VU). The number of mature individuals is currently unknown. The population trend for this species is decreasing. They were last assessed on 21st June 2016.
Threats
The Fishing Cat faces a high risk of extinction throughout its range and is thought to be amongst the most vulnerable of the small and medium-sized cats in Southeast Asia, reflecting the very low overlap of occupied habitat with protected areas and other conservation interventions, rather than any particular inherent higher susceptibility than shown by the other small cats. The major threat across its South Asian range appears to be habitat loss and fragmentation by developmental activities such as urbanization, industrialization, agriculture and aquaculture (prawn and shrimp farms), whereas in Southeast Asia persecution is the major threat. Outside Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park, Thailand, in 2015 it was reported that 84% mortality of radio-collared Fishing Cats during the study period. Of 16 Fishing Cats that were radio-collared, three could not be located and could have either dispersed or died. Of the remaining 13, only two survived the almost three-year study period while five were poached and six died of unknown causes. Five dead cats were located. In one case the poacher who shot an animal reported the cause of death when he returned its ear tag.
In India, much of its habitat comprises freshwater marshlands which are categorised as ‘wastelands’ under land use policies and are thus subject to conversion and degradation. Linked to this is conflict with humans, which is believed to be aggravated by habitat fragmentation and sharing of resources such as space (wetlands) and food (fish, goats, poultry). Poisoning, trapping and clubbing seem to be common methods to kill Fishing Cats across the species’ range. A survey in West Bengal recorded 27 deaths of Fishing Cats between April 2010 and May 2011 in that year in the Howrah district (1,600 km²). In Bangladesh, a compilation of reports from newspaper articles and web-based searches on the Fishing Cat (deaths, captures, rescues and releases) revealed 82 records and 30 confirmed deaths over a three-year period from January 2010 to March 2013. In both areas, almost all deaths could be traced to local people killing the cats. It should be taken as the minimum number killed because not all instances are recorded. In the Sundarbans of India, local people from Sagar Island admitted to having exterminated the cat from their island. It was noted that in Bangladesh and India more than 70% of the deaths occurred during the dry season, perhaps when Fishing Cat and human resources overlap maximally. A recent study in the Howrah district of West Bengal reveals that Fishing Cat diet is largely composed of small mammals, fish and birds with a negligible portion (less than 5%) comprising of livestock and surmises that the killings are based on a perception of conflict because of the presence of the cat.
In Cambodia the Fishing Cat is killed by locals for consumption or in retaliation for damaging fishing nets. Such killings probably occur throughout its Southeast Asian range.
Conservation
Fishing Cat is included in CITES Appendix II and protected by national legislation over most of its range. Hunting is prohibited in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam. In Viet Nam Fishing Cat has the highest level of protection under the main species protection law (decree 32/2006/ND-CP) and is included in appendix I B. This completely prohibits any exploitation or commercial trade. There is no protection afforded outside protected areas in Nepal. Since 1985, the Fishing Cat has been confirmed to occur in protected areas (but it should not be assumed necessarily to survive in all) including the Sundarbans in Bangladesh and India; Suklaphanta, Chitwan and Koshi Tappu in Nepal; Corbett, Dudwha, Keoladeo Ghana, Coringa and Kaziranga in India; Yala, Wilpattu, Maduru Oya, Horton Plains, Dunumadallawa, Kalametiya, Sinharaja, Bundala and Uda Walawe in Sri Lanka; Khao Sam Roi Yot and Thale Noi in Thailand; Kulen Promtep, Peam Krasaop and Ream in Cambodia. Several wetlands that hold Fishing Cat populations are listed under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of important wetlands, e.g. Sundarbans in Bangladesh, Chilika Lake, Keoladeo Ghana and East Kolkata Wetlands in India, Jagadishpur Reservoir in Nepal and Chotiari Reservoir in Pakistan. The survival of the species depends on adequate protection of remaining wetlands in Asia, and prevention of indiscriminate trapping, snaring and poisoning.