The Endangered Fishing Cat
Today we would like to tell you about the fish cat in order to finally put an end to the belief that cats do not like the water.
As its name suggests, this creature mainly feeds on fish. The genus Prionailurus viverrinus lives in South and Southeast Asia. It is threatened with extinction mainly because of the destruction of its habitat.
Geographical distribution of the fish cat
This small wild cat can be found in different areas of India, especially in the northeast. She also lives at the foot of the Himalayan mountains in Nepal and in the Indo Valley of Pakistan. You can also find them in the following areas:
- Bangladesh
- Sri Lanka
- Sumatra and Java (islands belonging to Indonesia)
- Bhutan
- Malaysia
- Thailand
- Vietnam
- Cambodia
- Myanmar
- China
Usually they inhabit wetlands such as swamps, meanders, mangrove forests and tidal creeks. They live at an altitude of up to 1,500 meters.
Physical characteristics of the fishing cat
Some explain the webbed paws as an adaptation to their habitat. However, the fold of skin that it has between its toes is no more developed than in other types of cats.
Other physical characteristics:
- Weight: between 6 and 16 kg
- Size: between 66 and 86 cm (females are smaller than males)
- Body: long and robust
- Legs: relatively short
- Tail: broad and short (about 30 cm)
- Head: broad
- Snout: elongated
- Fur: double-layered and olive-gray, with dark stripes on the neck and face and spotted body. A number of unclosed rings also decorate the tail.
Nutrition and reproduction
The fish cat is a mainly nocturnal loner. Not only does it catch fish from the shore, but it swims and even dives to catch its prey.
Fish are not the only part of their diet, however. They also feed on:
- Frogs
- Crustaceans
- snakes
- Birds
- Rodents
It is believed that the fish cat can reproduce all year round, just like our domestic cats. Most litters, however, are seen in March and May, at least in northeast India.
Female animals carry their litters from one to four young for 63 days. Then they suckle the little ones for six months. Four months later, the young cats become independent.
A species of cat that is critically endangered
Even if it is legally protected in most of its countries of origin, the fishing cat, which lives on average 12 years old, is still in danger.
It is on the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) red list as an endangered species. It is also on the appendix of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and you need special permits to trade with animals internationally.
The main threats this being suffers from are:
- Destruction of wetlands (through human settlement, agriculture, etc.)
- poaching
- Destructive and uncontrolled fishing that drastically reduces the diet of the cat species.
