Rupesh Maharjan

The project is about research and conservation initiative of fishing cat species in the wetland of Chitwan National Park. Based on the previous study of fishing cat carried out by one of our team members (Mishra, 2013) reveals that a small population of fishing cat do exist in the low wetlands of Chitwan National Park and requires urgent conservation measures to ensure its existence in the future. However, its study inside the protected areas has been archaic and requires fresh or new ground data to develop and implement sustainable conservation measures.

So, the aims of this project are to identify the status and distribution of fishing cat within the wetlands of the park and understand the nature of human fishing cat conflict inside the human-dominated landscape. Different types of survey methods like camera trap, sign survey, and questionnaire survey will be carried out to conduct research while awareness campaigns and education programs will be conducted to emphasize the need for fishing cat conservation to a wide range of audiences.