Photograph: Mathieu Ourioux
Description
These cats not only like water, they spend a great deal of their time either beside it or diving beneath the surface of it to catch their prey. When wading in shallow water, they use their paws to scoop the fish up . When diving, they use their teeth.
For all of this, they possess the most remarkable two-layered coat. The dense inner layer, next to the skin, provides waterproofing and all year round warmth; the second layer, which sprouts longer hairs (guard hairs), gives the cats their individual pattern.
They are nocturnal and have stocky bodies, short legs and tails, round ears and relatively broad heads. Their tails can act as rudders when swimming. They are powerful swimmers who are equipped with partial membrane between the toes to aid movement in the water. Unlike other cats, their claws are not fully retractable. They have olive-green/grey fur.
The mother gives birth to two or three young after a gestation period of sixty-three days. She raises them alone, the male having left after mating.
Habitat
Wetlands: marshes, rivers, streams and mangrove swamps.
Where
The Himalayan foothills in India and Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), the Indonesian Islands of Sumatra and Java, Vietnam, Thailand and the Indus Valley in Pakistan. Though widespread, the fishing cat favours only parts where wetlands are found.
What they eat
These cats are certainly not the pickiest of eaters. Though primarily they feast on fish, they are not averse to nibbling on others’ left overs, including tiger scraps, and are quite able to kill and devour chickens, dogs, frogs, cats, rodents, wild pig, goats and calves.
Threats
The greatest threat is man. His increasing settlement, degradation and conversion of the wetlands, and his drainage systems for agriculture, have all led to extreme loss of habitat. Over-exploitation of fish stocks is also threatening fishing cat numbers. And, they are hunted for food, medicine, skins and body parts. On top of all this, they are often persecuted for preying on domestic livestock.
Status: Endangered
The fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus), is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. The species is also protected by national legislation in most, but not all, of the countries it inhabits. But, legal protection is difficult to enforce and poaching continues. Wetland destruction and degradation is the primary threat faced by the species. Captive breeding programmes have been established and habitat loss is being addressed.
“The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe, the less taste we shall have for destruction.”
Rachel Carson
Mungai and the Goa Constrictor 