Fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus)

Mohamed bin Zayed Species project number 14258644

Status of Fishing Cat in Ghodaghodi Lake and Jagadishpur Reservoir and its conservation through Community Participation

Nepal is situated between two zoogeographic region of Palaearctic and Oriental. It harbors extraordinary variety of landscape, cultures and wildlife. Its physiographic features range from the highest terrestrial ecosystems in the world the Himalayas to the subtropical lowland of Tarai. The Tarai runs along the southern border along the foothills of siwaliks of Nepal and consist of tall alluvial floodplain grasslands and forests of subtropical characteristics including riverine, mixed hardwood and Sal (Shorea robusta) forest. Tarai represents 14% of total land of the country. Nepal's Tarai has several lakes and ponds. The IUCN (1998) inventory lists 46 lakes with over 8 ha. in the Nepal Tarai. The largest of these includes Beeshazari (3200 ha), Ghodaghodi (2563 ha), Jagadishpur Reservoir (225 ha) and Nacrodi (70 ha). These are ox bow lakes except Jagadishpur reservoir. These habitats are potential sites for the distribution of fishing cat. The fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) is an endangered species with decreasing population trend within its distribution range in South and Southeast Asia (IUCN red list 2010). In Nepal main threats to fishing cat are poaching for fur, habitat loss including wetland destruction and degradation, decreasing fish population because of poisoning and over harvesting (Jnawali et al. 2011). Destruction of wetland and floodplain habitat due to development activities and illegal hunting (Hunter 2011), commercial aquaculture and prawn farm, rural and urban land policy, brick industries, traditional hunting, poaching for meat and skin, agriculture, extensive layer of red algae in water surface (Mukherjee et al. 2012) are some of the threat to fishing cat around its distribution range in India. This project aims to survey and create awareness campaign of fishing cat outside the protected area of Tarai arc Landscape within Kailali and Kapilvastu districts of Nepal. Two wetland habitats Ghodaghodi Lake and Jagadishpur Reservoir also recognized as Ramsar sites in Nepal are chosen for the survey of Fishing cat. Fishing cat are recorded only along the protected areas of Nepal but has the potential of being distributed outside the protected area of similar habitat as they are known to have patchy distribution (Mukherjee et al. 2012). These areas have similar habitat (altitude, topography and vegetation) to the protected areas within Tarai Arclandscape. We don’t have any information of their distribution within major wetlands, marshland, man-made reservoirs, and lakes outside the protected area of Tarai Arc Landscape and eastern region (Dahal 2012)

This project aims to increase the existing information on Fishing Cat from outside the protected area of Nepal.The main objective of the project is to survey the distribution and occurrence of fishing cat in Ghodaghodi Lake and Jagadishpur Reservoir.

The specific objectives are:

·         to document the fishing cat human conflict in these areas

·         publication of booklets and awareness lecture for awareness campaign to the local community for the conservation of the fishing cat

 

Methods

Camera trapping will be carried out to survey the distribution and occurrence of fishing cat in Jagadishpur Reservoir and Ghodaghodi Lake. Minimum seven camera traps will be used to survey for 60 days. Questionnaire Survey will be conducted to understand the conservation status of fishing cat and fishing cat human conflict assessment in and around the settlements of study sites of Jagadishpur Reservoir and Ghodaghodi Lakes. 8 to 12 pages booklet will be published with the information of fishing cat and its importance in ecology. The booklet will also include major threats to this species and necessary actions to be taken to conserve this habitat specialist animal. All together 1000 booklets will be published and distributed. Awareness campaign for the conservation of fishing cat will be conducted through lectures and booklet distribution among the local people.