![]() It has been estimated that about 50 percent of Southeast Asia wetlands are disappearing as the human population grows. These un-finicky felines are willing to eat any time of the day, which gives them more menu choices.įishing cats depend on water in their habitat, but this is likely to cause trouble for future generations. Farmers’ chickens, dogs, goats, and calves are fair game for the fishing cat, as are leftovers from someone else’s meal, including morsels tigers leave behind after they’ve eaten their fill. The cats have also been seen eating snakes, rodents, young deer, and wild pigs and ducks. Of course, they don’t use a fishing pole! Instead, the cats wade in shallow water and use their paws to scoop fish out of the water, or they dive headfirst into deeper areas to catch a meal with their teeth. Little is known about fishing cats in the wilderness, but it is thought that they have no natural predators, other than humans.įishing cats mainly eat fish but also dine on other prey found in the water, including crabs, crayfish, and frogs. They are sometimes found in tropical dry forests and have even been seen in the Indian Himalayas, at elevations of 4,900 feet (1,500 meters) in dense vegetation near rivers and streams. Female fishing cats are much smaller than the males.Ī fishing cat moves carefully through marsh reeds.įishing cats are attracted to all types of water and live in wetlands, their most common stomping ground, with marshes, swamps, and mangroves also high on the list of suitable habitat. The fishing cat’s fur has two layers: one layer is very short and dense to keep the cat’s skin warm and dry during time spent in the water longer hairs, called guard hairs, give the cat its color pattern, which is great for camouflage. The cat’s tail is fairly short, less than half of its body length, and its coat is olive-gray with black spots and stripes. The fishing cat’s paws have webbing between the toes to help it swim and walk in muddy wetlands without sinking. ![]() If you were to look at the fishing cat without knowing what it is, you would not guess that with its short, stocky body it could swim like a pro. Cats are supposed to roam the land while hunting small terrestrial animals, but sometimes you want to be something different! Making a splash: Cats don’t like water, and they definitely don’t swim, right? Well, that’s only true of some cats-others actually love the water! Fishing cats are one of the best swimmers around and are completely at home in the water. A fishing cat's short, stocky body is tailor made for hunting in the water.
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