Odisha starts project to conserve Bhitarkanika fishing cats

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.