First photographic evidence of Fishing Cat, Prionailurus viverrinus (Bennett, 1833) in Tampara Lake, Ganjam, Odisha
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26515/rzsi/v123/i2/2023/171598Keywords:
Freshwater Lake, Ramsar Site, Small Carnivore, WetlandAbstract
Under the cat family of mammals, Fishing Cat Prionailurus viverrinus (Bennett, 1833) is a small carnivore under the Vulnerable category of IUCN, a globally declining species distributed in different wetland ecosystems across the east coast of India and its distribution pattern is extremely localized and patchy throughout the range. We report the presence of fishing cats through photographic evidence and secondary signs for the first time from the vicinity of the Tampara Lake of the Ganjam district of Odisha, from where the presence of fishing cat was never known.