Cats generally are not fond of water, and avoid swimming. But not fishing cats.
These medium-sized wild cats of South and Southeast Asia thrive near wetlands and are found ‘fishing’ for prey on ponds, rivers and lakes.
But habitat loss and destruction of wetlands, and declining fish population have led to the decline of these cats. The endangered cats had not been spotted in Nepal’s Jagadishpur reservoir (listed on the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance) since 2014, until this year.
Fishing cats used to seen Bardia, Chitwan and Parsa National Parks and in Kosi Tappu Wildlife Reserve in Nepal’s Tarai, and mainly prefer the floodplains of the Karnali, Babai, Rapti, Narayani, Kosi and Reu Rivers and the Ghodaghodi Tal.
Earlier a team of researchers went to look for this elusive cat and to understand its current status in Jagdishpur. Local villagers confirmed that there had indeed been a decrease in sightings in the recent years. Many others in the community had little or no knowledge of the species and its habits.
Camera traps were deployed and a local team member Anil Chaudhary was provided with the responsibility to monitor the feed for 15 days. The next two weeks were crucial.
Within days there had been possible sightings on camera stations 64m, 298m and 468m away from the reservoir. Replaying the clips, it was confirmed that they were indeed fishing cats.