FISHING CAT MOVES INTO NEW HOME AT TOYOTA ELEPHANT PASSAGE Cat Will Showcase Fishing Skills in El Pomar Foundation Village Hall
There's going to be plenty of splashing inside Toyota Elephant Passage now. Denver Zoo has a new species of cat to add to its roster, with the arrival of a 5-year-old fishing cat named Maliha (Muh-lee-uh). Maliha comes to Denver Zoo from Oklahoma City Zoo. Visitors can see her dive for live fish in the waters of the Marynelle Philpott Fishing Cat Lagoon in Toyota Elephant Passage once it opens to the public on June 1. There will be a media tour to see Maliha and her exhibit neighbors once they have all moved into their new habitats.
As their name suggests, fishing cats love the water and are powerful swimmers. They push through the water with their webbed hind feet and use their short flattened tail like a rudder to help control direction as they swim. They may swim under water to prey on ducks and other aquatic birds from below. They have been observed climbing trees then diving headfirst into the water grabbing prey in their mouth. Their water resistant fur is another adaptation for aquatic life.
The cats attract fish by lightly tapping the water's surface with a paw mimicking insect movement. They then dive into the water to catch the fish that come near. Because their claws do not fully retract they use their claws like fishing hooks to spear the slippery fish. They also wade in shallow water hunting for prey and then use their partially webbed paws to scoop fish, frogs and other prey out of the water.
Although they resemble a house cat, they are about twice the size of an average house cat. They can grow from about two to almost three feet long with a foot long tail. They also weigh 18 to 26 pounds and have stocky builds with short legs. Their fur is olive gray with dark spots arranged in longitudinal stripes down the back and a ringed tail tipped in black. They have flat-nosed faces with short round ears and six to eight distinctive dark lines running from above the eyes between the ears over the head to the neck.
They are scattered throughout southwest India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Malaysia, Thailand, Sumatra, Java and Pakistan, living primarily in wetland areas like swamps, marshes and densely vegetated areas along rivers and streams.
Exact fishing cat population numbers in the wild aren't known because they are so rarely encountered. However, it is believed there are less than 10,000 individuals and their numbers are declining. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies them as endangered. Their biggest threats are wetland destruction and conversion to farmland. They are also threatened by pollution from industry, agricultural pesticides, destructive fishing practices and poaching for food, medicine and body parts. They are also hunted for the exotic pet trade.
