Episode 38: Conserving Sri Lanka's Fishing Cats with Anjallee Prabhakaran from Small Cat Advocacy and Research

The Think Wildlife Podcast

The Fishing Cat is a medium sized cat, discontinuously distributed across South and Southeast Asia. Currently, their range extends from India to Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. In India, the species is found in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal. In fact, the fishing cat is the State animal of West Bengal. A study from Keoladeo National Park found that fish compromised nearly 75% of the fishing cat's diet of the fishing cat, a testament to the species name.

The fishing cat is listed as “Vulnerable” by the IUCN Red List. The species is predominantly found in lowland wetland habitats, such as mangroves, swamps, rivers, and streams. Unfortunately, the species is threatened by rampant habitat loss as wetlands are either severely polluted or converted for agricultural use. Additionally, mangroves in the state of Andhra Pradesh are being converted to aquaculture ponds, further exacerbating habitat loss. In some regions, the species is a victim of human-wildlife conflict due to competition for fish stocks with local fishermen.

In this episode, I discuss the conservation of the fishing cat with Anjallee Prabhakaran from Small Cat Advocacy and Research (SCAR). This NGO, which is based in Sri Lanka is a part of the Fishing Cat Conservation Alliance. We talk about all the great work the team is doing towards the conservation of, not only the fishing cat but other small cats on the island nation.

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