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Zoology and Ecology

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The vulnerable fishing cat Prionailurus viverrinusin Odisha, eastern India: status and conservationimplications

Himanshu Shekhar Palei, Udit Pratap Das & Subrat Debata

To cite this article: Himanshu Shekhar Palei, Udit Pratap Das & Subrat Debata (2018): Thevulnerable fishing cat Prionailurus viverrinus in Odisha, eastern India: status and conservationimplications, Zoology and Ecology, DOI: 10.1080/21658005.2018.1468646

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/21658005.2018.1468646

Published online: 07 May 2018.

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Zoology and Ecology, 2018https://doi.org/10.1080/21658005.2018.1468646

The vulnerable fishing cat Prionailurus viverrinus in Odisha, eastern India: status and conservation implications

Himanshu Shekhar Palei  , Udit Pratap Das  and Subrat Debata 

aranya Foundation, Bhubaneswar, India

ABSTRACTThe Fishing Cat Prionailurus viverrinus is amongst the most vulnerable and least studied wild cats across its range. Although its occurrence in Odisha, eastern India was reported c. 100 years ago, its current distribution, threats and conservation challenges are still poorly known. A biodiversity inventory performed in multiple parts of Odisha between 2008 and 2018 found the Fishing Cat in 20 new localities. The Fishing Cat distribution is confined to the coastal zone, from mangrove to swamps surrounded by rice fields, aquaculture farms and human habitations up to about 50 m above sea level. Road kill is an immediate threat but can be overcome by installing underpasses and signage on major roads. Wells in Fishing Cat habitats should be fitted with safety walls to avoid trapping. Community awareness of this species’ conservation is vital, as most of its habitats fall outside protected areas and are near human habitation. Targeted study of its population status, ecology and threats throughout known and potential localities is necessary to formulate a Fishing Cat conservation plan for Odisha.

Introduction

The Fishing Cat Prionailurus viverrinus, a medium-sized cat weighing between 6 and 16 kg (Prater 2005) is dis-continuously distributed across Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand and possibly other areas (Mukherjee et al. 2016). This species prefers wetland habitats and is more vulnerable to loss and degradation of habitats than other small and medium sized cats, as currently wetlands are amongst the most threatened and vanishing ecosystems worldwide (Davidson 2014). Poaching and retaliatory killing as a result of perceived conflicts are additional potential threats for survival of this cat across its distribution range (Melisch et al. 1996; Mukherjee et al. 2012, 2016; Duckworth, Lynam, and Breitenmoser-Wursten 2014; Tantipisanuh et al. 2014; Willcox et al. 2014; Cutter 2015; Thaung et al. 2017). It has been assessed that the global Fishing Cat population has declined by 30% during the last 15 years and it will further decline by another 30% in the coming such period, if the aforementioned threats persist (Mukherjee et al. 2016). Therefore, owing to the severity of threats to its habitat and population, it has been categorised as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and kept under Appendix II of CITES for enhancing conservation initiatives (Mukherjee et al. 2016; CITES 2017).

According to the latest knowledge, India and Sri Lanka are the strongholds of the Fishing Cat (Janardhanan et al. 2014). In India, the Fishing Cat is primarily distributed

along the eastern coast covering parts of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar, in the north east (Arunachal Pradesh and Assam), in the Himalayan foothills (Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh), and Rajasthan (Nowell and Jackson 1996; Sunquist and Sunquist 2002; Mukherjee et al. 2012, 2016; Sadhu and Reddy 2013; Menon 2014). Its occurrence along the western coast and the Western Ghats was questionable (Nowell and Jackson 1996; Sunquist and Sunquist2002) and a recent study (Janardhanan et al. 2014) failed to find any evi-dence of the Fishing Cat occurrence in the coastal areas of Kerala. Although Odisha has a large array of marshy and mangrove habitats along the coast, oft-used habitats of the Fishing Cat, information on the occurrence and distribution of the species in the state is very scarce. The Fishing Cat is known only from two localities in Odisha: Chilika lake of Khurda district (Annandale 1915; Das, Lal, and Agrawal 1993; Mukherjee et al. 2012) and Anandapur of Keonjhar district (Acharjyo and Mishra 1975). This paper updates the occurrence, distribution and threats to the Fishing Cat in Odisha.

Materials and methods

Study area

Odisha State is located between 17°49ʹ–22°34ʹ N and 81°29ʹ–87°29ʹ E covering an area of 155,707 km² along the eastern coast of India (Figure 1). Odisha falls under

© 2018 nature Research centre

KEYWORDSFishing cat; Prionailurus viverrinus; small cats; Bhitarakanika; chilika; odisha; road kill

ARTICLE HISTORYReceived 27 March 2018 accepted 19 april 2018

CONTACT Subrat debata subrat.debata007@gmail.com

Published online 07 May 2018

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7783-7587http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3462-4594http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8296-1734mailto:subrat.debata007@gmail.comhttp://www.tandfonline.comhttp://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1080/21658005.2018.1468646&domain=pdf

2 H. SHEKHAR PALEI ET AL.

either photographic evidence or sighting of the species. Sightings of the Fishing Cat claimed by local people were confirmed by cross-examining the identification skill of the claimant. The identification of the Fishing Cat from photographs and sightings was confirmed following the descriptions given by Prater (2005) and Menon (2014).

Results

During the survey we traced a total of 27 claims of Fishing Cat sightings from 25 localities, but seven claims from five localities were rejected as four sightings were unauthentic and three reports were based on the erro-neous identification of the Jungle Cat as the Fishing Cat. The occurrence of the Fishing Cat in the remaining 20 localities was proved based on five sightings, five rescue records, seven road kill incidents and recovery of carcass from three sites, making up a total of 18 adults and four kittens (Figures 1 and 2; Table 1). All the recorded localities are from the coastal districts of Odisha and are mostly (18 of 20) near human habitations outside protected areas. One road kill was recorded near the Central Institute of the Freshwater Aquaculture campus in Bhubaneswar city, the state capital of Odisha. The recorded localities are characterised by marshy areas surrounded by rice fields, aquaculture ponds and mangrove forest and are situated about 50 m a.s.l. These areas are subject to the anthropogenic impact caused by intensive agriculture, aquaculture farming, fishing and vehicular movements.

Discussion

From the present study it can be inferred that Fishing Cats in Odisha occur largely along the coastal zone and are more widely distributed along the entire coastline than earlier reported (Annandale 1915; Acharjyo and Mishra 1975; Das, Lal, and Agrawal 1993). During our informal discussion with the local Forest Department staff in the areas where Fishing Cat carcasses were recovered and road kill incidents happened (Figure 2), it was revealed that the species was presumed to be the young Leopard Panthera pardus or the Jungle Cat. Forest officials generally have poor skills of small- and medi-um-sized mammal species identification, which means that the recent targeted surveys by biologists have expanded the known distribution ranges of several such species in Odisha (Mohapatra, Palei, and Hussain 2014; Debata et al. 2015; Palei and Debata 2017). As Odisha shares its north-eastern and south-eastern boundaries with West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh respectively (both states are known to have many Fishing Cats), a contiguous population of the Fishing Cat along east-ern India can be proposed. The habitat characteristics of all the recorded localities coincide with the general habitat preference of the species elsewhere in its range (Mukherjee et al. 2016).

the Deccan Peninsula biogeographic zone spreading over the Deccan plateau, the Central highlands, the Eastern Ghats, the Gangetic plain and Coasts biogeo-graphic province (Sinha 1971). The coastline of Odisha is about 480 km long and is characterised by sand dunes, tidal creeks, backwaters, brackish water lagoons, estuar-ies, mangroves, mudflats and salt marshes (Tripathy et al. 2013). In addition to the Fishing Cat, the Jungle Cat Felis chaus and the Leopard Cat Prionailurus bengalensis are known to co-occur along the coastal Odisha. However, while the Jungle Cat is very common and widely dis-tributed, the Leopard Cat is restricted to the Mangrove habitat of the Bhitarakanika Wildlife Sanctuary (Mishra et al. 1996).

Methodology

The biodiversity inventories performed during 2008–2018 in various protected and non-protected areas throughout Odisha, eastern India (Figure 1), were aimed at surveying the Fishing Cat. Recording methods included direct sighting, interviews with local people (by showing them photographs and explaining the behav-iour of the species) and collection of information from the local Forest Department office. Reports of capture, rescue and death of Fishing Cats from both online and print editions of local newspapers were collated. Such newspaper based information was later checked by sur-veying the sites and interviewing the local people and the Forest Department officials who had witnessed these incidents. Available photographs purported to be of the species taken by either of them were collated.

As identifying the Fishing Cat is extremely difficult when they co-occur with other small cats such as the Jungle Cat and the Leopard Cat, we took utmost care while using the information obtained from local peo-ple, Forest Department records and signs (pug marks and scats) were not considered unless supported by

Figure 1.  Map showing the locations (numbers refer to Table 1 and Figure 2) of the Fishing cat Prionailurus viverrinus occurrence in odisha, eastern India.

ZOOLOGY AND ECOLOGY 3

In Odisha, Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary is the only known protected habitat for Fishing Cats in Odisha. The rest of the areas are highly vulnerable to various anthro-pogenic activities such as agriculture, intensive fishing and aquaculture practices. Besides, although Chilika lake and its adjoining areas are among the proposed impor-tant Fishing Cat habitats in India (Mukherjee et al. 2016), uncontrolled shrimp farming and tourism have been found to be major issues here (D’Lima et al. 2014). These may have negative effects on the status of the Fishing Cat local population. The animal occurring mostly in human-dominated landscapes is therefore among the

most potentially vulnerable mammal species of the state: threats like habitat destruction, poaching and retalia-tory killing as a result of perceived conflict are common throughout its range (Mukherjee et al. 2012, 2016). The performed observations showed that the main cause of the Fishing Cat mortality in Odisha was road kills with mostly adult males being the victims (Table 1). This could be explained by the fact that adult males defend large home ranges and move over larger areas for foraging than adult females (Sunquist and Sunquist 2002) thereby increasing the likelihood of vehicular hit while crossing the roads during the night. In one road kill incident, the

Figure 2. Photographic records of the Fishing cat Prionailurus viverrinus in odisha, eastern India. The number in each photograph refers to the location in Figure 1 and Table 1.

4 H. SHEKHAR PALEI ET AL.

an abandoned well dug within an agricultural area. Our informal discussion with the local people revealed that earlier one Jungle Cat and two Bengal Fox Vulpes benga-lensis individuals were rescued from that well.

Conservation implications

The Fishing Cat population occurring in Protected Areas of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, Sur Sarovar Bird Sanctuary, Corbett Tiger Reserve, Sundarbans Tiger Reserve, Keoladeo Ghana National Park, Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, Kaziranga Tiger reserve, Manas Tiger Reserve, Valmiki Tiger Reserve, Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary, Krishna

teeth, claws and whiskers of the dead cat were taken away by local people presuming it to be a Leopard cub, because of superstitious belief in their medicinal and supernatural values. Such behaviour encourages inten-tional poaching threatening wildlife today. Although we did not come across such poaching or retaliatory killing incidents of the Fishing Cat in Odisha, they are highly possible. Therefore further investigations should be car-ried out in order to understand the real pattern of this cat species mortality and implement law enforcement. In two occasions, Fishing Cats were rescued from fish-ing nets set by local children for fishing. In one instance the dead body of an adult female was recovered from

Table 1. all available records on the occurrence of the Fishing cat Prionailurus viverrinus in odisha, eastern India between 1915 and 2017.

note: Sl numbers of locations correspond with numbers in Figures 1 and 2.aall records were generated during the present investigation except Sl. no. 1 (annandale 1915), 2 (acharjyo and Mishra 1975) and 3 (das, lal, and agrawal

1993).

Year Sl No Locations (Altitude) Habitat type Type of evidencesa

1915 1 Satapada, chilika lake, Puri (not available) Unknown Historical record; The specimen (sex and age is not available) was collected and submitted to the Indian Museum, Kolkata

1973 2 Balarampur Village, anandapur, Keonjhar (not available)

Unknown Historical record: one young male was rescued and reared in nandankanan Zoological Park, odisha

1974 3 Satapada, chilika lake, Puri (not available) Unknown Historical record: a specimen of a juvenile female was collected by the Zoological Survey of India

2008 4 Sipalabana village, chilika lake, Khurda (6 m)

adjoining chilika lake, surrounded by aquaculture farms

Two kittens rescued by the Forest department. They later died in the nandankanan Zoological Park

5 Hajari chowk, Kendrapara (6 m) State highway adjoining rice fields and a human habitation

Road kill of an adult female

2013 6 Sankhamedi, Bichitarapur, Balasore (2 m) degraded mangrove forest Sighting of an adult male by local villagers7 near defence Research and development

organization campus, chandipur, Balasore (6 m)

Human habitation and a swampy area Sighting of an adult with unidentified sex by the authors

2014 8 Sipalabana Village, chilika lake, Khurda (12.3 m)

adjoining chilika lake, surrounded by a human habitation and aquaculture farms

Rescue of an adult female entangled in a fishing net by the Forest department

9 dhamara, Bhadrak (3 m) Village road, near a human habitation surrounded by aquaculture farms

Road kill of an adult male

2015 10 central Institute of Freshwater aquacul-ture, Bhubaneswar, Khurda (17 m)

Swampy habitat surrounded by experi-mental fish tanks

Road kill of an adult male

11 Hatabaradi village, Tangi, Khurda (15 m) Human habitation adjoining fish tanks Rescue of an adult male entangled in a fishing net by the Forest department

12 Kanheipur village, Krushnaprasad, Puri (7 m)

Village road in a human habitation, sur-rounded by rice fields

Road kill of an adult male

2016 13 Bhitarakanika Wildlife Sanctuary, Ken-drapara (4 m)

Mangrove forest Sighting of an adult with an unidentified sex by the authors

14 ankushapur village, Kukudakhandi, Ber-hampur, ganjam (54 m)

Village road, near a swampy pond, surrounded by a human habitation and rice fields

Road kill of an adult male

2017 15 national Highway16, Barunei, Khurda (32 m)

Periphery of Khurda town, adjoining a swampy pond and surrounded by rice fields

Road kill of an adult male

16 Bhitarakanika Wildlife Sanctuary, Ken-drapara (5 m)

Mangrove forest Sighting of an adult with an unidentified sex by the authors

17 Mangalajodi, chilika lake, Khurda (4 m) Swampy habitat Sighting of an adult with an unknown sex by the authors

18 Tengramari Village, Jaleswar, Balasore (5 m)

Home garden surrounded by aquaculture ponds

Recovery of an adult male carcass by the Forest department

19 Sanabandhakera village, Brahmagiri, Puri (7 m)

agricultural field Recovery of an adult male carcass from an unused well by the Forest department

20 Moti chhaka, Sunamuhin-Borokudi Road, Brahamagiri, Puri (7 m)

Swampy habitat Rescue of an adult female by the Forest department

2018 21 Bhubaneswar–cuttack bypass road, near river Kuakhai, cuttack (23 m)

adjoining river with a marshy bank Road kill of an adult male

22 Sipia-gobardhuliraod, Badajhada, Braham-agiri, Puri (6 m)

Swampy habitat Recovery of an adult female carcass by the Forest department

23 Brahamagiri Market, Brahamagiri, Puri (11 m)

Human habitation, surrounded by a swampy area and an agricultural field

Rescue of two kittens by the Forest department

ZOOLOGY AND ECOLOGY 5

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Mukherjee, S., A. Appel, J. W. Duckworth, J. Sanderson, S. Dahal, D. H. A. Willcox, V. Herranz Muñoz, G. Malla, A. Ratnayaka, M. Kantimahanti, et al 2016. Prionailurus viverrinus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T18150A50662615. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T18150A50662615.en. Accessed September 13, 2017.

Wildlife Sanctuary and the Namdapha Tiger Reserve in India benefits from management activities (Naidu et al. 2015; Mukherjee et al. 2016). However, the population occurring outside Protected Areas such as in Odisha require special conservation attention. The conserva-tion plan should be carefully prepared considering the socio-economic context of the local people. Educational programmes aimed at enhancing the understanding of local communities of the importance of Fishing Cats and seeking their support in conservation activities should be developed and carried out. Staffs of local Forest Departments need to boost their capacity to identify different species. In future it will help monitor the spe-cies within a larger geographic range. Wells in Fishing Cat habitats should be fitted with safety walls to avoid trapping wild animals. To reduce road kill mortality, con-struction of underpasses is a frequent solution world-wide (Glista, DeVault, and DeWoody 2009) and such initiatives should be implemented in Odisha as well. Display boards highlighting speed limits of vehicles on roads passing through Fishing Cat habitats are needed to alert the drivers. Furthermore, long-term targeted monitoring of population trends, ecology and threats of this lesser-known cat in Odisha and potential locali-ties should be carried out to understand its status and develop appropriate conservation plans.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the Odisha Forest Department officials for sharing information on rescue of Fishing Cats in Odisha. Local villagers are highly acknowledged for their help during the field survey. We are thankful to Madhu Behera for allowing us to use his Fishing Cat sighting photograph in this report. We are also thankful to J. W. Duckworth and A. T. Qashqaei for their valuable suggestions concerning the manuscript improvement.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding

The study was financially supported by Aranya Foundation.

ORCID

Himanshu Shekhar Palei   http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7783- 7587Udit Pratap Das   http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3462-4594Subrat Debata   http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8296-1734

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AbstractIntroductionMaterials and methodsStudy areaMethodology

ResultsDiscussionConservation implications

AcknowledgementsDisclosure statementFundingReferences