News: Odisha Government has started a two-year conservation project for Fishing Cats in Bhitarkanika National Park.
Facts:
- Fishing Cat: They are a medium-sized wildcat found in South and Southeast Asia.
- Habitat: In India, fishing cats are mainly found in the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, on the foothills of the Himalayas along the Ganga and Brahmaputra river valleys and in the Western Ghats.
- Significance: In 2012, the West Bengal government officially declared the Fishing Cat as the State Animal.
- IUCN Red List: Vulnerable.
- CITES: Appendix II
- Indian Wildlife Protection Act,1972: Schedule I
- Threat: Habitat Destruction, Hunting, Poaching among others.
