Context
The fishing cat, a lesser-known feline species, is facing several threats due to its depleting habitat. So, a worldwide campaign by the Fishing Cat Conservation Alliance to protect the feline is being started.
About Fishing Cat
- The fishing cat(Prionailurus viverrinus) is a medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asia.
- It is very much content and survives in water.
- Protection Status: Since 2016, it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
- Threats: Fishing catpopulations have declined severely over the last decade. Some of the reasons are for the declining population is:
- habitat loss [wetland degradation and conversion for aquaculture and other commercial projects]
- sand mining along river banks
- agricultural intensification resulting in loss of riverine buffer
- targeted hunting and retaliatory killings
- Occurrence: They are found in Sundarbans in West Bengal and Bangladesh, Chilika lagoon, and surrounding wetlands in Odisha, Coringa, and Krishna mangroves in Andhra Pradesh.
- Fishing cats have a patchy distribution along the Eastern Ghats. They are found in
- estuarine floodplains
- tidal mangrove forests
- inland freshwater habitats
Fishing Cat Conservation Alliance
- The Fishing Cat Conservation Alliance is a team of conservationists, researchers, and enthusiasts across the world.
- Aim: To have a world with functioning floodplains and coastal ecosystems.
