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Prionailurus viverrinus
– Vulnerable
Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
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ANIMALIA
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Phylum:
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CHORDATA
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Class:
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MAMMALIA
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Order:
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CARNIVORA
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Family:
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FELIDAE
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Scientific Name:
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Prionailurus viverrinus
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Species Authority:
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(Bennett, 1833)
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Common Name/s:
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FISHING CAT (Eng)
CHAT PĂCHEUR (Fre)
GATO PESCADOR (Spa)
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Assessment Information
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Red List Category & Criteria:
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VU C2a(i) ver 3.1 (2001)
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Year Assessed:
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2002
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Assessor/s:
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Cat Specialist Group
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Evaluator/s:
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Nowell, K., Breitenmoser, U. & Jackson, P. (Cat Red List Authority)
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Justification:
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Based on estimates of geographic range and average densities (Nowell and Jackson 1996), the fishing cat’s total effective population size is estimated at below 10,000 mature breeding individuals, with a declining trend due to habitat and prey base loss and persecution, and no subpopulation containing more than 1,000 mature breeding individuals.
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History:
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| 1994 | - | Insufficiently Known (Groombridge 1994) |
| 1996 | - | Lower Risk/near threatened (Baillie and Groombridge 1996) |
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Geographic Range
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Range Description:
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The fishing cat has an apparently discontinuous distribution, being found only in northeastern India, but also in Sri Lanka; and throughout Southeast Asia and the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java, but apparently absent from most of peninsular Malaysia.
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Countries:
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Native:
Bangladesh; Bhutan; Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; China; India; Indonesia (Jawa, Sumatera); Lao People's Democratic Republic; Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia); Myanmar; Nepal; Pakistan; Sri Lanka; Thailand; Viet Nam
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Population
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Population:
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It is locally common around wetlands, but absent from drier habitats in between (Nowell and Jackson 1996).
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Population Trend:
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Habitat and Ecology
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Habitat and Ecology:
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Fishing cats are strongly associated with wetland. They are typically found in swamps and marshy areas, oxbow lakes, reed beds, tidal creeks and mangrove areas and are more scarce around smaller, fast-moving watercourses (Nowell and Jackson 1996).
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System:
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Terrestrial; Freshwater
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List of Habitats:
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| 1.6 | Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland |
| 1.7 | Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Mangrove Vegetation Above High Tide Level |
| 5.1 | Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls) |
| 5.5 | Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) |
| 5.13 | Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Inland Deltas |
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Threats
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Threats:
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Wetland destruction is the primary threat faced by the species (Nowell and Jackson 1996). Causes of this destruction include human settlement, draining for agriculture, pollution, and excessive hunting, wood-cutting and fishing. Severely threatened sites include the estuaries of the Karnataka coast (south-western India) and the deltas of the Irrawaddy, Indus, Mekong and Red rivers (Nowell and Jackson 1996). In addition, clearance of coastal mangroves over the past decade has been rapid in Tropical Asia (Nowell and Jackson 1996).
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List of Threats:
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| 1.1 | Habitat Loss/Degradation - Agriculture (ongoing) |
| 1.4.2 | Habitat Loss/Degradation - Infrastructure development - Human settlement (ongoing) |
| 3 | Harvesting (hunting/gathering) (ongoing) |
| 6.3 | Pollution (affecting habitat and/or species) - Water pollution (ongoing) |
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Conservation Actions
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Conservation Actions:
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Included on CITES Appendix II. Protected by national legislation over most of its range. Hunting prohibited: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand. Hunting regulations apply in Laos. No protection outside protected areas: Bhutan, Viet Nam (Nowell and Jackson 1996).
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List of Conservation Actions:
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| 1.2.2.1 | Policy-based actions - Legislation - Implementation - International level (in place) |
| 1.2.2.2 | Policy-based actions - Legislation - Implementation - National level (in place) |
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Bibliography
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Bibliography:
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Baillie, J. and Groombridge, B. (compilers and editors) 1996. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. Cat Specialist Group. For more information, see the Specialist Group website Groombridge, B. (ed.) 1994. 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. IUCN. 2002. 2002 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. . Downloaded on 8 October 2002. Nowell, K. and Jackson, P. (compilers and editors) 1996. Wild Cats. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. (online version)
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