The fishing cat is about twice the size of a large house
cat, with a head and body length of about 70 cm (28"). Males weigh as much
as 16 kg (35 lb). Its short, coarse fur is mouse gray or olive brown and
covered with small black spots. The underside of the body is white, and there
are two dark "collars" on the throat.On its face, back, and neck the spots merge into short streaks or lines.
The short tail is marked with 5 or 6 black rings and a black tip.
The fishing cat is strongly associated with wetlands. It is
typically found in swamps and marshy areas, oxbow lakes, reed beds, tidal
creeks and mangrove areas. It has been recorded at elevations up to 1800 m
(5900') in the Indian Himalayas.
Fish are the most frequent prey of the fishing cat. Other
prey include crabs, frogs, rats, civets, fawns, calves, snakes, lizards and
birds. The fishing cat is a nocturnal hunter. It is very much at home in the
water. It is a strong swimmer, even in deep water, and it can swim long
distances. The fishing cat appears to be a solitary hunter, but otherwise there
is little information on its social organization or mating behavior in the
wild.
The fishing cat has a limited and discontinuous distribution
in Asia. It is very rare in the Indus Valley of
Pakistan, and there may be scattered populations in coastal areas of Kerala in
southwest Indiaand Sri Lanka.
Its main distribution is in the Himalayan foothill region of Indiaand Nepal, and
then south through Bangladesh,Myanmar, and
northern Thailandto Vietnam. It
is also found in Sumatra and Java,
Indonesia.
Wetland destruction is the primary threat faced by the
fishing cat. Causes of this destruction include human settlement, draining for
agriculture, construction of aquaculture facilities, and wood-cutting. In
addition, clearance of coastal mangroves over the recent past has been rapid in
tropical Asia. High use of pesticides in rice fields and
fishponds results in adverse impacts, since the harmful chemical residues can
enter aquatic food chains and affect top predators such as the fishing cat.
Destructive fishing practices have also greatly reduced the fishing cat's main
prey base. Finally, the fishing cat is hunted because it is considered edible
and its skin is still valued by the fur trade.
Tidbits
*** Cat Tidbit #11: The backs of the fishing cat's ears are
black with small white central spots. White spots or bars are found on the back
of the ears in many other cat species. Their function is unknown, although one
suggestion is that the ear spots, along with the white on the underside of the
tail tip of some species, serve as "follow me" signals to the
kittens, which may be especially important in low-light conditions. (Sunquist
& Sunquist 2002) (See Cat Tidbit #12.)
*** The fishing cat, with its stocky, powerful build and
short legs, was given the second part of its scientific name,
"viverrinus," on account of its rather "viverrine" or
civet-like appearance (Nowell & Jackson 1996).
*** Although webbed feet have often been noted as a
characteristic of the fishing cat, the webbing beneath its toes is not much
more developed than that of a bobcat (Nowell & Jackson 1996).
Status and Trends
IUCN Status:
[The IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of
Nature; also called the World Conservation Union) is the world’s largest
conservation organization. Its members include countries, government agencies,
and non-governmental organizations.The
IUCN determines the worldwide status of threatened animals and publishes the
status in its Red List.]
Countries Where the
Fishing Cat Is Currently Found:
2005: Occurs in Bangladesh,Bhutan, Cambodia,China, India,Indonesia(Java, Sumatra), Laos,Malaysia(Peninsular Malaysia),Myanmar, Nepal,Pakistan, Sri
Lanka, Thailand,
and Vietnam(IUCN 2005).
Taxonomy:
Recent genetic analyses have lead to the proposal that all
modern cats can be placed into eight lineages which originated between 6.2 -
10.8 million years ago. The fishing cat is placed in the "leopard cat
lineage," which diverged from its ancestors as a separate lineage 6.2
million years ago. The leopard cat lineage also includes the pallas cat, the
flat-headed cat, the leopard cat, and the rusty-spotted cat. (Johnson et al.
2006)
Population Estimates:
[Note: Figures
given are for wild populations only.]
* WORLD
o The
fishing cat’s total effective population size is estimated at below 10,000
mature breeding individuals (IUCN 2005).
History of
Distribution:
The fishing cat has a limited and discontinuous distribution
in Asia. One major portion of its distribution is found
in the Himalayan foothill region of Indiaand Nepal. Also
in India, the
fishing cat is found in the valleys of the Ganges and Brahmaputrarivers, along the upper part of the east coast and possibly in coastal areas of
Kerala in southwest India,
although it may have disappeared from this region. Recently a fishing cat was
found dead 40 km (25 mi) southeast from Nagpur,
in central India,
an area outside its known range. There also may or may not be scattered
populations in Sri Lanka.
In Pakistan it
is considered very rare and fast disappearing. It is mainly found along the
lower reaches of the IndusRiver,
although a few stragglers penetrate the northeast of the country along the Raviand SutlejRivers.
(Nowell & Jackson 1996, Sunquist & Sunquist 2002, Wildl. Prot. Soc. India
2005)
From the Indian subcontinent, the second major portion of
the fishing cat's distribution ranges through Bangladesh,Myanmar, and Thailand,
to Cambodia, Laos,
and Vietnam.
There are two records of fishing cats from Peninsular Malaysia, but the origin
of these specimens is not clear. If it does occur in Peninsular Malaysia, it
does so at an extremely low density. There is no record of the fishing cat fromChina, but it
might be found in GuangxiProvinceor YunnanProvincenear the border with Vietnam.
The fishing cat is also found in Sumatra and Java,
Indonesia. In Java, the
fishing cat appears to be restricted to small numbers in isolated coastal
wetlands: there were no records during recent surveys further inland than 15 km
(9 mi) and it must be considered extremely rare. (Humphrey & Bain
1990,Nowell & Jackson 1996,
Sunquist & Sunquist 2002, Kawanishi & Sunquist 2003)
Distribution Map #1 (46 Kb JPEG) (IUCN Cat Spec. Gr.)
Distribution Map #2 (83 Kb GIF) (AZA Felid TAG)
Threats and Reasons for Decline:
Wetland destruction is the primary threat faced by the
fishing cat. Causes of this destruction include human settlement, draining for
agriculture, construction of aquaculture facilities, and wood-cutting In
addition, clearance of coastal mangroves over the recent past has been rapid in
tropical Asia. High use of pesticides in rice fields and
fishponds results in adverse impacts, since the harmful chemical residues can
enter aquatic food chains and affect top predators such as the fishing cat. Destructive
fishing practices have also greatly reduced the fishing cat's main prey base.
Finally, the fishing cat is hunted because it is considered edible and its skin
is still valued by the fur trade. (Melisch et al. 1996, Nowell & Jackson
1996, Bambaradeniya & Amarasinghe 2001, Sunquist & Sunquist 2002,
Arkive 2006)
Data on Biology and Ecology
Size and Weight:
The head and body
length of the fishing cat is: Female: 65 - 74 cm (avg 67 cm) (25.6 - 29"
(avg 26.4")) (n = 5); Male: 66 - 78 cm (avg 72 cm) (26 - 31" (avg
28")) (n = 7). The fishing cat weighs: Female: 5 - 7 kg (avg 6 kg) (11 -
15lb (avg 13 lb)) (n = 2); Male: 14 - 16 kg (avg 15 kg) (31 - 35 lb (avg 33
lb)) (n = 2). (Sunquist & Sunquist 2002)
Habitat:
The fishing cat is
strongly associated with wetlands. It is typically found in swamps and marshy
areas, oxbow lakes, reed beds, tidal creeks and mangrove areas. It has been
recorded at elevations up to 1800 m (5900') in the Indian Himalayas, where it frequents
dense vegetation near rivers and streams. Some studies show that the fishing
cat's distribution seems highly correlated with vegetation cover and that most
sightings of this cat are of animals sitting next to moving water. However,
results of the only radio-tracking study up to 2003, in the terai grasslands of
southern Nepal,
indicated that the fishing cat spent most of its time in dense tall and short
grasslands, sometimes well away from water. (Humphrey & Bain 1990, Melisch
et al. 1996, Nowell & Jackson 1996, Sunquist & Sunquist 2002, Choudhury
2003)
The fishing cat is
found in the Himalaya, Indo-Burma, Sundaland and Western
Ghats and Sri Lanka Biodiversity Hotspots (Cons. Intl. 2005).
Age to Maturity:
Adult size is
attained in 8 - 9 months (Humphrey & Bain 1990). One female became sexually
mature at fifteen months (Sunquist & Sunquist 2002).
Gestation Period:
Approximately 63 -
70 days (captivity) (Sunquist & Sunquist 2002).
Birth Season:
Most observations
of kittens in the wild date from March - April, suggesting that mating takes
place in January - February, although births can occur at other times of the
year (Sunquist & Sunquist 2002).
Birth Rate:
One to four
fishing cat kittens are born in a litter (Macdonald 2001). In captivity, the
average litter size of 13 litters was 2.6 (Sunquist & Sunquist 2002).
Early Development:
Captive fishing
cat kittens were first observed eating solid food at 53 days of age, but they
continued to suckle until they were weaned at about 6 months (Sunquist &
Sunquist 2002).
Dispersal:
Young fishing cats
become independent at the age of 10 months (Nowak 1999).
Maximum Age:
The fishing cat
lives an average of 12 years, but it has been known to live more than 15 years
in captivity (Arkive 2006).
Diet:
Fish are the most
frequent prey of the fishing cat. Other water-associated prey include crabs,
molluscs, and frogs. The fishing cat also feeds on mammals (e.g. rats, civets,
fawns, wild pigs, goats, calves and dogs), reptiles (e.g. snakes, lizards and
skinks), and birds. (Melisch et al. 1996, Nowell & Jackson 1996,
Bambaradeniya & Amarasinghe 2001, Sunquist & Sunquist 2002)
Behavior:
The fishing cat is
a nocturnal hunter. It is very much at home in the water. It is a strong
swimmer, even in deep water, and it can swim long distances. The fishing cat
has been observed to dive into water after fish, as well as to crouch on a rock
or sandbank near the water and swat the fish out onto dry land with its paw. It
has even been seen to catch waterfowl by swimming up to them while fully
submerged and seizing their legs from underneath. (Humphrey & Bain 1990,
Nowell & Jackson 1996, Nowak 1999, Sunquist & Sunquist 2002)
Social Organization:
The fishing cat
appears to be a solitary hunter, but otherwise there is little information on
its social organization or mating behavior in the wild. Limited radio-tracking
data suggest that the fishing cat follows the usual feline pattern in which a
male’s home range overlaps the smaller home ranges of several females.
(Sunquist & Sunquist 2002) In captivity, males have been observed aiding in
the rearing of young (Arkive 2006).
Range:
In Chitwan
National Park, Nepal,
radio-tracked females used areas of 4 - 6 sq km (1.5 - 2.3 sq mi), while a
male’s home range was about 16 - 22 sq km (6 - 8.5 sq mi) (Sunquist &
Sunquist 2002).
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