In search of the elusive and threatened fishing cat

Why in News?

• Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has initiated a GPS collar tracking project in Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary, Andhra Pradesh (2025), to study habitat use, movement patterns, and human interaction zones of the Fishing Cat.

Overview

• Scientific Name: Prionailurus viverrinus

• Family: Felidae

• IUCN Red List: Vulnerable (downlisted from Endangered)

• CITES: Appendix II

• Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I

• State Animal: West Bengal

Physical & Behavioural Features

• Size: ~ Twice the size of a domestic cat; weight 7–12 kg.

• Appearance: Greyish-brown coat with black spots.

• Nocturnal: Primarily active at night.

• Apex Predator in wetland ecosystems.

• Adaptations:

  • Partially webbed paws → swimming & mud-walking.

  • Dense, water-resistant coat → aquatic survival.

  • Protruding claws → grip on slippery fish & surfaces.

  • Can swim fully submerged.

Hunting Behaviour

• 50%: Waiting/crouching at water edge.

• 5%: Fully submerged hunting.

• In shallow water → moves slowly, flushes fish with paws, grabs with mouth.

Habitat & Distribution

• Wetlands: River floodplains, mangroves, swamps, estuarine floodplains, inland freshwater habitats.

• India: Terai (Himalayas), marshes of Western India, Eastern Ghats, Sundarbans, Coringa & Krishna mangroves (AP), East Coast wetlands.

• Outside India: Sri Lanka, Bangladesh.

• Recent Rediscovery: Keoladeo NP, Rajasthan (2025).

Population Highlights

• Chilika Lake, Odisha: ~750 cats in 1,100 sq. km (Fishing Cat Project, 2024) → Healthy due to abundant fish & low conflict.

• Sundarbans: Rapid decline due to habitat loss & human pressures.

Threats

1. Habitat Loss & Degradation:

   • 30–40% of India’s wetlands lost in last four decades.

   • Shrimp farming → mangrove destruction.

2. Human-Wildlife Conflict:

   • Seen as threat to fish ponds & poultry → retaliatory killings.

3. Poaching & Ritual Hunting:

   • Occasionally hunted for skin.

4. Poisoning & Snaring:

   • Indiscriminate trapping.

5. Encroachment & Urbanisation:

   • Conversion of wetlands to agriculture, aquaculture, settlements.

Conservation Initiatives

• Fishing Cat Project (2010) → Awareness & research in West Bengal.

• Fishing Cat Conservation Alliance (2021) → Mapping in unprotected Eastern Ghats (AP).

• Chilika Development Authority → 5-year action plan for fishing cat conservation.

• State Initiatives:

  • West Bengal → Declared State Animal (2012), dedicated enclosures in Calcutta Zoo.

  • Odisha NGOs & wildlife societies actively engaged.

• WII Godavari Project (2025):

  • GPS collars + GIS mapping → track movement, habitat use, human interaction zones.

  • Aim → Data-driven conflict mitigation & habitat protection.

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