On July 2, 2013, researchers from the Fishing Cat Research and
Conservation Project in Thailand captured unprecedented video of a young
wild fishing cat fishing. They set up this video trap after several
nights of cats raiding fish traps of local farmers. They modified a pond
that was already in use by the cats in order to encourage the fishing
in front of their cameras.Two different fishing cats visited this pond
that night. In the coming days, the team hopes to film even more
exciting video of the cats going after their prey of choice, perhaps
with more splashing involved. Still, what you are about to see has never
been recorded in the wild before.When I set out to cover the story of Thailand’s fishing cats,
I never expected vandalism could lead to an unprecedented wildlife
discovery for this little known endangered species.
Fishing cats are increasingly rare. New estimates suggest only about
2,500-3,000 remain in the wild. It is only in recent years that
scientists have started to gain a better understanding of where these
small wildcats live or what’s happening to them.