Acrylic Painting of Fishing Cat. ©Sanat Das.

Fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) is a medium-sized wild cat of Southeast Asia listed in the category of vulnerable by the IUCN Red Data List. It was assessed as the endangered species during the 2010 period due to the lack of periodic assessment, highly suspected threats that could have led to the extirpation from the range.

Therefore, the project intends to explore the status, distribution, and threats of the species outside and inside protected area. Similarly, the research will provide the scientific data which serves as a basis for further conservation planning. Research from other countries reveals a declining population facing an array of severe threats from habitat destruction to active persecution due to perceived conflict (Mukherjee et al. 2012, Cutter 2015, and Adhya 2016). Further, details of threats to the species and the current conservation status remain largely unknown. The natural distribution of the Fishing Cat is unclear throughout its global range, with many unauthenticated, ambiguous and erroneous records clouding understanding (Pocock 1939, Duckworth et al. 2009, Janardhanan et al. 2014, Appel 2016, Duckworth 2016, Willcox 2016).

Therefore, the research strongholds the determination to conduct the specific species centred research from the Shuklaphanta National Park (SuNp) compare the status and habitat preferred by the species outside the protected area Kapilvastu district. It will investigate conservation threats of species both inside and outside the protected area so that a better threat mitigating measures could be generated for species longevity and sustainability that could promote for further ecological studies. Workshops and conservation awareness programs will be to bring the species conservation among local community.