World’s first fishing cat census done in Chilika

Context

The Chilika Lake, Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon, has 176 fishing cats, according to a census done by the Chilika Development Authority (CDA) in collaboration with the Fishing Cat Project (TFCP).

About World’s First Fishing Cat Census

• Fishing Cat Census was Conducted by Chilika Development Authority(CDA) in collaboration with The Fishing Cat Project(TFCP).
• This is the world’s first population estimation of the fishing cat, which has been conducted outside the protected area network.
• The Census has found that Chilika Lake which is Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon has 176 Fishing Cats.

About Fishing Cats

• About twice the size of a typical house cat, the fishing cat is a feline with a powerful build and stocky legs.
• It is an adept swimmer and enters water frequently to prey on fish as its name suggests.
• It is known to even dive to catch fish.
• It is nocturnal and apart from fish also preys on frogs, crustaceans, snakes, birds, and scavenges on carcasses of larger animals.
• It is capable of breeding all year round but in India its peak breeding season is known to be between March and May.
• Fishing Cats have globally threatened cats that occur in wetlands like marshlands, mangroves and flooded forests in major South and Southeast Asian river basins starting from the Indus in Pakistan to the Mekong in Vietnam and in the island nations of Sri Lanka and Java. 
• They are found in 10 Asian countries but have remained undetected in Vietnam and Java since the last decade or so.

Conservation status

• IUCN Red List: Endangered
• CITES: Appendix II
• Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I