Cat webbed feet skin#

These compounding factors isolate fishing cat populations drive local extinctions of fishing cats, isolate populations, and declines in remaining wild populations.įishing cats are also threatened by poaching to prevent livestock predation. Silt, along with human products like effluent, trash and chemical pollution and agricultural runoff, washes downstream and settles in bodies of still water, which alters the landscape by filling in marshes and wetlands. Without trees and natural vegetation, silt can accumulate too quickly and erode waterways. Increased pressure results in the expansion of human settlements into sparse areas, such as wetlands.Īdditionally, deforestation for logging operations reduces the land’s capacity to recharge its water supply and maintain soil health. Human population in these areas is rapidly growing, while resources are diminishing. This may not be the result of fishing cats extending their range into urban areas, but rather the encroachment of human development into the wetland areas they rely on.įishing cats are threatened by human development in wetland areas. In much of their geographic range, humans carve a life out of the land in underdeveloped areas, including foothills, coastal forests, swamps and intertidal marshes. More recent studies show a rising population of fishing cats in more urban areas. In some parts of the fishing cat’s range, these rodents intersect with areas that are rapidly urbanizing.įishing cats can also be seen in cultivated grasslands and agricultural areas with standing water. Their habitat is also linked with species of rodents that they eat, particularly the sensu lato ( Rattus rattus). Separate reports place fishing cats in the north coast of Java, but biologists have not seen the species there since, and the population known to live in Ujung Kulon National Park died from poisoning in 2006.įishing cats are generally found in wetland areas, such as marshes, swamps and mangrove forests. The last recorded camera trap capture in Vietnam was in 2000. There are reports of fishing cats spotted in urban areas of Sri Lanka. Reports of fishing cats are sporadic and, in a few cases, unreliable. But camera traps have confirmed their presence in some parts of their range, including some protected areas in India, along the coast of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The northern part of its range extends to the Himalayan foothills, which runs south to Sri Lanka and Thailand. The western reaches of its range extend into Pakistan, cutting east to Cambodia. The fishing cat's natural range is unknown, but it is currently found across South and Southeast Asia. Long guard hairs protrude from this coat, giving the fishing cat its unique pattern.

Cat webbed feet skin#

A compact, dense layer of fur right against the cat’s skin is composed of tightly packed strands of hair, which prevents water from reaching the cat’s skin, keeping it warm in chilly waters. This facilitates the capture of prey, especially while underwater.Īnother unique adaptation for their semiaquatic lives is the structure of their fur. Unlike many cats, fishing cats readily swim. Their front toes are partially webbed and their claws protrude slightly even when retracted. This cat is powerfully built with short limbs and a stocky body. Its low-set, muscular tail is shorter than a domestic cat's and ringed with six or seven incomplete dark bands, distinguishing it from the leopard cat. The fur on its underside is longer and spotted. Its lips, chin, belly and throat are white with gray spots.

The fishing cat's nose is pink or deep-brick in color. When viewed from the front, they have a distinctive white spot in the center. The ears are short and round, and the back of the ears are black. Its cheeks have white highlights and black marks, and its eyes are ringed with white fur. Six to eight black lines run from the cat's forehead to its neck, breaking up into shorter bars and spots on its shoulders. The fishing cat's coat is a camouflaged gray-brown with distinctive black spots and stripes.