We know that most cats are afraid of water and would not dive into a river, let alone to catch fish. Did you know that there is a wild cat that is dubbed the Fishing cat?
The fishing cat comes from Asia from Pakistan to part of India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Fishing cats are medium sized with an olive-grey coat embellished with dark spots. Their most distinctive features are their webbed paws which aid them to gain better control and traction in the water, and their small ears which can be closed off from water easily.
They are the natural fish catchers that feed on mostly fish. They also catch frogs or crayfish from the riverbank, but they are not just restricted to aquatic animals. Sometimes they may snack on rodents and birds.
The Fishing Cat has been listed as one of the endangered species because it relies heavily on wetlands. Due to agriculture and over fishig by humans, fishing cats have lost a lot of their natural habitat and are verging closer to extinction.
Recently, the Cincinnati Zoo just introduced three 2-month-old fishing cat kittens to the public. There are approximately 50 fishing cats currently residing in the U.S. zoos.
Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Prionailurus_viverrinus.jpg