FISHING CATS
Fishing cat
Fishing cats (Prionailurus viverrinus) are about twice the size of a domestic cat. They are found in scattered areas in northwest India, peninsular India, Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, and Thailand, Java and on Sumatra and Java in Indonesia. Little is known about the lifespan of fishing cats in the wild. Their lifespan in captivity can be up to 12 years. There are estimated to be fewer than 10,000 mature breeding individuals.
Fishing cats are seen mostly in wetland areas such as marshes, oxbow lakes, reed beds, tidal creeks and mangrove swamps and dense vegetation along streams and rivers. They can also be found in heavily forested regions adjacent to rivers or near jungles and scrub areas. Fishing cats have been reported in Himalayan forests at an elevation of 1525 meters. (5000 ft.) and in the mountains of Sri Lanka as high as 2100 meters (7000 feet) in the mountainous areas of Sri Lanka.[Source: Maria Hamlin, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Sebastian Kennerknecht wrote in Smithsonian magazine: The cry of the fishing cat sounds like the quack of a duck, and the rest of this midsize feline also seems tailor-made for the life aquatic. Its narrow, streamlined head is ideal for dips in the mangrove swamps and wetlands and its pointy ears even fold down during a dive, serving as earplugs. The short, stout tail works like a rudder; the back feet are partially webbed. The unusual half-retractable claws sweep through the water like anglers’ hooks, snagging prey, and the extra-thick coat guards against the damp. [Source: Sebastian Kennerknecht, Smithsonian magazine, November- December 2022]
“Fishing cats are habitat specialists, wetland specialists,” says Tiasa Adhya, an ecologist and co-founder of The Fishing Cat Project, a research and conservation group based in eastern India. Her research recently showed via camera trap footage, that the shy animal has two distinct methods of catching the fish that make up the bulk of its diet. In deep water, the cat waits motionless on the banks for hours, very much like a domestic kitty contemplating a goldfish heist, before plunging in for the kill. (A favorite, naturally, is catfish.) In the shallows, though, the cat actively flushes prey from weedy hiding spots by stomping wildly about, like a kid in a puddle.
Fishing Cat Characteristics
Fishing cats are considered one of the largest of the lesser cats. Fishing cats range in weight from six to 12 kilograms (13.2 to 26.4 pounds) and range in length from 65.8 to 85.7 centimeters (25.9 to 33.7 inches). Adults stand over 35 centimeters high at shoulder and have a head and body that measures 66 to 86 centimeters, with a 21 to 23 centimeter tail. Their ears are 47 millimeters to 51 millimeters in length. Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) is present: Males are significantly larger than females. [Source: Maria Hamlin, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Fishing cats have green eyes, short, round ears and slightly elongated muzzles. They are powerfully built with short limbs and a stocky body. They have a long head and a short tail that is roughly one-third the length of their body. The paws are webbed, and the claws extend past the claw sheaths when retracted. Their whiskers are short. The back side of their ears is black. When viewed from the front the ears have a distinctive white spot in the center. /=\
The fur of the fishing cat is coarse and brownish gray with distinctive dark markings. The markings are a combination of both spots and stripes. These spots are arranged longitudinally across the body. Six to eight dark lines run from above the eyes between the ears over the crown to the nape of the neck. These lines gradually break up into shorter bars and spots on the shoulders. The fur on the underside of Fishing cats is longer and spotted, and the tail is ringed. The short hair on the face is spotted. /=\
Fishing Cat Behavior
Fishing cat range
Fishing cats are terricolous (live on the ground), motile (move around as opposed to being stationary) and solitary. The size of their range territory is four to 22 square kilometers. The home range for female fishing cats was found to be 4-8 square kilometers. The home range for a male was 22 square kilometers. [Source: Maria Hamlin, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Unlike many felines, fishing cats love the water. Equipped with slightly webbed front toes that help them swim, they dive into streams and pools of water in pursuit of frogs, crustaceans, and fish. On land they feed on birds, small mammals. reptiles and can bring down animals larger than themselves such as goats, calves, even dogs. In captivity fishing cats have been observed taking cow flesh to the water and dropping it in, retrieving it, and then eating it. This same washing behavior was mimicked when fishing cats were offered live quail /=\
Fishing cats sense using touch, sound and chemicals detected by smelling. They communicate with sound and chemicals usually detected by smelling. They also leave scent marks produced by special glands and placed so others can smell and taste them. Female fishing cats call to attract males to initiate mating. /=\
Fishing Cat Food and Eating Behavior
Fishing cats have been described as piscivores (eat mainly eats fish) but calling them carnivores (mainly eat meat or animal parts) and scavengers is equally apt. They mainly eat fish and terrestrial vertebrates but also scavenge and eat eats non-insect arthropods Animal foods include birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fish carrion insects mollusks. Sometimes they forage and store caches of food. [Source: Maria Hamlin, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
According to Animal Diversity Web: Earliest records indicate that fishing cats predominantly feed on fish and shellfish. These early records also stated that fishing cats ate dogs, sheep, and calves. At that time fishing cats were known to have taken human infants.
In 1987 a fishing cat was observed eating a dead cow, so it is believed that they eat carrion. A study examining the food habits of fishing cats revealed that that they primarily feed on fish. A frequency analysis showed that out of 144 scats examined, 109 contained fish, 39 contained birds, 31 contained grass, 18 contained insects, 13 contained rodents, and 11 contained a mixture of snakes, lizards, mollusks, rabbits and cows. 1988) /=\
In January 2024, in a study published in the journal Mammalia, scientists announced that trail cameras had captured footage of fishing cats preying on birds high in the trees of Bangladesh, marking a departure from their usual fish-hunting strategy. Between June and October 2022, the cats were observed attacking fledgling birds nested over 20 feet high in the canopy of trees. One of these hunts was a success as three chicks were seen dead and four more were missing.“These two occasions suggest that fishing cats, despite being adapted specifically for hunting fish and wetland ecosystems, can climb trees and forage in canopies if necessary,” researchers said. The discovery is of “particular significance,” researchers said, noting that waterbirds now constitute a novel food source for the threatened cats. [Source: Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, February 20, 2024]
Fishing Cat Fishing
According to a Canon wildlife advertisement: “The fishing cat is a dedicated angler and spends most of its life around water. It thinks nothing of diving right in, in fact, when a juicy fish remains stubbornly out of paw’s reach. But not all entrees are underwater, the fishing cat will take anything from frogs and snakes to rodents and even wild pigs. Active during both night and day, it roams a home range of up to 22 square kilometers, troubled by no predators other than humans.”
Fishing cats have been observed in the wild "fishing" at the edges of bodies of water. They appear to scoop their prey from the depths of the water and have also been observed playing with fish in shallow water. Haque and Vijayan (1993) observed fishing cats entering the water and scooping out their prey during moonlit nights. During these observations they also witnessed fishing cats eating grass and gerbils.
Fishing cats catch fish several ways. Sometimes they wait on the shore for a fish to pass by and then bat it out of the water onto land. Other times they sit motionless in the water and wait for a fish to pass its way. When one does the cat then grabs it with its two front paws and pulls it to its mouth to deliver a lethal bite or it flings the fish into the air with its front paws and catches it with its mouth. There is no information regarding the species of fish they eat.
Fishing Cat Mating, Reproduction and Offspring
Fishing cats are polygynous (males have more than one female as a mate at one time). Little is known about their social behavior but male and female pairs are often spotted together and males are believed to take a role in child rearing. Both of these traits are unusual among cats. Fishing cats breed once a year, usually during the months of January and February, but has been observed breeding in June. The gestation period ranges from 63 to 70 daysm after which the female gives birth to one to four kittens. The average litter size is two.
Fishing cats are altricial. This means that young are born relatively underdeveloped and are unable to feed or care for themselves or move independently for a period of time after birth. /=\ Pre-weaning and pre-independence provisioning and protecting are done by females. Males in captivity have been observed helping females care for and rear the young. It is unclear whether fishing cats repeat this behavior in the wild.
Mother fishing cats make their dens in tree hollows or dense shrubbery. The kittens generally weigh 100 to 173 grams at birth and will gain roughly 11 grams per day. On the 16th day their eyes open. The kittens take meat around the 53rd day and are weaned at four to six months of age. At eight to nine months the young reach adult size and are independent at 10 months. Both females and males reach sexual or reproductive maturity at around this time.
Fishing Cats, Humans and Conservation
On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List fishing cats are listed as Endangered. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they are in Appendix II, which lists species not necessarily threatened with extinction now but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled. [Source: Maria Hamlin, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Fishing cats do not have any documented predators other than man. They are sometimes hunted for their pelts and eaten in some places. Their biggest threat to their populations comes from the deforestation of their riverine habitats and development in mangrove and freshwater swamps. Researchers in Sri Lanka have documented a variety of factors are responsible for the loss of habitat, including land reclamation, dumping, clearing of the natural vegetation, and pollution. /=\
Many fishing cats live in places with a strong human presence. In addition to the loss of habitat the population of the fishing cat is in danger due to destructive fishing practices that greatly reduce the fish stock. The fishing cat is also a victim of poaching. They are often hunted for food, medicine, or various body parts.
Sebastian Kennerknecht wrote in Smithsonian magazine: The world has lost almost 90 percent of its wetlands since the 1700s, with Asia suffering the greatest decline. These days, intensive aquaculture, pollution and upriver damming destroy freshwater fish habitats and pit fishing cats against farmers, as the hungry felines swipe farmed carp and even the odd chicken or goat, and the farmers retaliate with poison, traps and knives. Once found along river systems from Pakistan to Vietnam, and from the Himalayan foothills to the tropical island of Java, the cats have vanished from large swaths of their range and are classified as vulnerable. [Source: Sebastian Kennerknecht, Smithsonian magazine, November- December 2022]
Casting about for solutions beyond the standard wetland-protecting litigation, conservationists are testing new approaches, including the commercial launch this winter of a type of indigenous (and by all accounts delicious) rice variety. Available only locally until now, its global sale could improve small-scale rice farmers’ profits and prospects, making the switch to industrialized aquaculture less alluring. Thriving on nutrients washed in by monsoon rains rather than on chemical fertilizer, the native rice also creates habitat for the fishing cat and its prey. The idea is that in healthy communal lakes where there is plenty to feed felines and fisherfolk alike, retaliatory killings are unnecessary. “Nobody takes a loss,” Adhya explains, “when somebody takes a fish.”
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, David Attenborough books, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.
Last updated January 2025