Fishing cat to be the ambassador of Chilika Lake

The Chilika Development Authority (CDA) designated the fishing cat as an ambassador of Chilika Lake, the largest brackish water lagoon in Asia and India’s oldest Ramsar Site.

About Chilika Lake

• It is Asia’s largest and world’s second-largest lagoon.
• It spreads over Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts of Odisha on the east coast of India, at the mouth of the Daya River.
• It is separated from the Bay of Bengal by a small strip of sand.
• It is the largest wintering ground for migratory birds on the Indian subcontinent.

Ramsar Site

• In 1981, it was designated the first Indian wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
• Satapada, a Sea Mouth Island where Chilika Lake meets the Bay of Bengal, is home to the Irrawaddy dolphins.
• Nalbana Bird Sanctuary or Nalbana Island is the core area of the Chilika Lake.

About Fishing Cat

• The fishing cat is the only wild cat species in India that is a wetland specialist, and it is found all around Chilika.
• 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.

Protection Status

• It is listed as Endangered as per IUCN Red List.
• It is listed in Appendix II of CITES.
• Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I

Conservation Efforts

• Recently the Odisha Government has started a two-year conservation project for Fishing Cats in Bhitarkanika National Park.
• The Fishing Cat Project launched in 2010 started raising awareness about the Cat in West Bengal.
• In 2012, the West Bengal government officially declared the Fishing Cat as the State Animal and the Calcutta Zoo has two big enclosures dedicated to them.
• In Odisha, many NGOs and wildlife conservation Societies are involved in Fishing Cat research and conservation work.

UPSC