Fishing Cat Report

The fishing cat is an endangered species of the cat family. The Latin name for the fishing cat is Prionailurus viverrin.

Habitat

The fishing cat is found in a number of countries in south-east: Asia, China, India, Bangladesh, south-west India, Sri Lanka, Burma, the southern Himalayas and Vietnam. They like to live near swamps, mangroves and fresh water rivers, marshes, streams.

Diet

The fishing cat’s diet includes birds, small mammals, snails and fish.

It is powerful enough to catch large prey such as calves and dogs. The fishing cat attracts fish by lightly tapping the water surface with its paw mimicking insect movements. Then it dives into the water to catch fish. It has partly webbed paws to scoop fish, frogs, and other prey out of the water or swim underwater to prey on ducks and water birds.

Description

These cats have a long body, short legs a broad head round ears and a short tail. They have olive grey fur it has black strips and rows of black spot. The fishing cat has a stocky body.

Dynamics

Fishing cats hunt at night. The fishing cat can reach up to 55 km/h on the land. Fishing cats are nocturnal. They enjoy swimming in water and can swim long distances, even underwater.

The number of fishing cats left in the wild is unknown but it is going down.  People are the biggest threat to the fishing cats, they have been destroying their habitat. They are threatened by habitat loss and hunting for food and fur.