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Albinism in the Fishing Cat (Prionailurus Viverrinus) from the Haor Basin of Bangladesh

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Albinism in the Fishing Cat (Prionailurus Viverrinus) from the Haor Basin of Bangladesh See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235968719 Albinism in the fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) from the Haor Basin of Bangladesh Article · January 2013 CITATION READS 1 98 3 authors, including: Anthony J. Giordano Mohammed Feeroz Texas Tech University Jahangirnagar University 82 PUBLICATIONS 212 CITATIONS 69 PUBLICATIONS 383 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Rarest Cat in the World? Assessing the Conservation Status of the Javan Fishing Cat View project All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, Available from: Anthony J. Giordano letting you access and read them immediately. Retrieved on: 01 October 2016 ISSN 1027-2992 CATnewsN° 58 | SPRING 2013 01 CATnews 58 Spring 2013 02 CATnews is the newsletter of the Cat Specialist Group, Editors: Christine & Urs Breitenmoser a component of the Species Survival Commission SSC of the Co-chairs IUCN/SSC International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It is pub- Cat Specialist Group lished twice a year, and is available to members and the Friends of KORA, Thunstrasse 31, 3074 Muri, the Cat Group. Switzerland Tel ++41(31) 951 90 20 For joining the Friends of the Cat Group please contact Fax ++41(31) 951 90 40 Christine Breitenmoser at [email protected] <[email protected]> <[email protected]> Original contributions and short notes about wild cats are welcome Send contributions and observations to Associate Editors: Keith Richmond [email protected]. Brian Bertram Sultana Bashir Guidelines for authors are available at www.catsg.org/catnews Javier Pereira CATnews is produced with financial assistance from Friends of Cover Photo: First photographic evidence the Cat Group. of a Pallas’s cat in Bhutan. The animal was captured in Jigme Dorji National Design: barbara surber, werk’sdesign gmbh Park on 17.11.2012 Layout: Christine Breitenmoser Photo: Jigme Dorji National Park Print: Stämpfli Publikationen AG, Bern, Switzerland ISSN 1027-2992 © IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group The designation of the geographical entities in this publication, and the representation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the IUCN concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. CATnews 58 Spring 2013 short communication Wildlife Warden, Rajasthan, and the Director Conservation Project: Occasional Report #5: Howard J.G. 2010. Prionailurus viverrinus. In: and Dean of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Con- IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Spe- for providing the necessary facilities for granting servation Biology. Thailand. cies. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. field permissions and providing logistical sup- Kolipaka S. 2006. Fishing Cat on India’s East Nowell K. & Jackson P. 1996. Wild Cats, Status port. We are extremely thankful to Dr. Y. V. Jhala, Coast. Cat News 44, 22. Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN, Mr. Qamar Qureshi of WII and Sri. Y.K. Sahu, the Kumara H.N. & Singh M. 2004. The influence Gland, Switzerland. DCF Ranthambhore, for their cordial support and of differing hunting practices on the relati- Pocock R.I. 1939. The Fauna of British India, crucial suggestions throughout the study. We ve abundance of mammals in two rainforest including Ceylon and Burma. Mammalia 1: would like to thank Ram Prasad, Mujahid, Javed areas of the Western Ghats, India. Oryx 38, Primates and Carnivora. Taylor and Francis, and Mujib for assistance in field data collection 321–327. London, U.K. and for their relentless efforts. Macdonald D. W., & Loveridge A. J. 2010. Bio- Rabinowitz, A. R. & Walker, S. R. 1991. The car- logy and Conservation of Wild felids. Oxford nivore community in a dry tropical forest mo- References University Press Inc., New York, U.S.A. saic in Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, Champion H. G. & Seth S. K. 1968. A Revised Mukherjee S., Adhya T., Thatte P. & Ramakris- Thailand. Journal of Tropical Ecology 7, 37-47. Survey of the Forest Types of India. Manager hnan U. 2012. Survey of the Fishing Cat Pri- of Publications, Government of India, New onailurus viverrinus Bennett, 1833 (Carnivo- 1 Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Delhi, India. ra: Felidae) and some aspects impacting its Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Uttrak- Cutter P. 2009. Camera Trapping and Conser- conservation in India. Journal of Threatened hand 248001, India vation Status of Fishing Cats at Khao Sam Taxa 4, 3355–3361. <[email protected]> Roi Yod National Park and the Surrounding Mukherjee S., Sanderson J., Duckworth W., 2 Rajasthan Forest Department, Government of Areas, Thailand. Fishing Cat Research and Melisch R., Khan J., Wilting A., Sunarto S. & India ANTHONY J. GIORDANO1,2, A.H.M. ALI REZA3,4 AND MOHAMMED MOSTAFA FEEROZ4 our visit, staff managing this captive wild- life collection claimed that other individu- Albinism in fishing cats from als had been observed more recently from 37 the same general region, which suggests the Haor Basin of Bangladesh anecdotally at least that this trait is still represented in the gene pool. The fishing cat Prionailurus viverrinus is a small to medium-sized felid that ranges Considering its time in captivity and its across southern Asia from Pakistan east to Vietnam and south to the island of Java. adult status at the time of capture, this al- To date very little is known about the ecology and natural history of this species. bino male was at least 12 years old at the Here we document an adult albino fishing cat believed to have been captured in the time we observed it. To our knowledge, the Hail Haor region of Sylhet Division, Bangladesh and propose that albinism may be Haor region of Sylhet is the only region well established among fishing cats in the Haor Basin. We are unaware of any other from which albino fishing cats have been aberrant pelage patterns that have been documented in fishing cats. documented. Albinism has been documen- ted in several other felid species (Robinson The fishing cat is a robust, small to me- we documented the occurrence of an albino 1970a, 1976; Nowell & Jackson 1996), par- dium-sized felid inhabiting wetland and male fishing cat (Fig. 1) in a captive wild- ticularly in captivity. However, it appears to riparian areas across southern and sou- life collection in the town of Srimangal. The occur infrequently in wild felid populations. theast Asia. Typical pelage for the species cat, a male held in captivity for approxima- Other somewhat familiar pelage variants consists of brownish-grey to olive-grey fur tely 10 years (captured in August 2001), in felids include both leucism (Robinson marked with nearly parallel lines of black, was captured as an adult at Hail Haor 1969, McBride & Giordano 2010) and me- broken elongated spots on the back and si- (24°22’N/91°40’E), a large wetland that lanism (Robinson 1970b, Wibisono & Mc- des (Sterndale 1884). Spots vary in shape is currently the focus of our research. The Carthy 2010, Bashir et al. 2011, Giordano from rounded to elongate (Francis 2008); second author examined and photographed et al. 2012), of which the latter variant has the tail is banded or ringed, and white fur the same individual in 2001 a few weeks recently been the subject of increasing ge- is present around the mouth and muzzle. after its capture. netic and field research (Eizirik et al. 2003, The ears are black and have a conspicuous Khan (2005) reported four albino fishing cats Haag et al. 2010, Kawanishi et al. 2010). central white spot on the dorsal surface like (3 kittens, 1 adult) caught on three occasions Although we are not aware of the existence its congeneric, the leopard cat Prionailurus within an 18-month period from this same of other fishing cat pelage variants, mela- bengalensis (Roberts 2005). Currently, the region (2000-2001) suggesting that albinism nism does occur in leopard cats from the fishing cat’s ecology and distribution largely may be somewhat established in this popu- Sundarbans (Kumar Das et al. 2012). remain unknown. lation. The fate of the three other kittens As a final thought, it would be of notable In December 2009 while conducting surveys that Khan (2005) referred to is unclear, as scientific interest if albinism does indeed for fishing cats in northeastern Bangladesh, no further information is available. During persist in any wild population of felids. Al- CATnews 58 Spring 2013 short communication Kumar Das S., Kumar Sakar P., Saha R., Vyas P., Danda A. A. & Vattakavan J. 2012. First pho- tographic capture of melanistic leopard cat in Sundarbans. Cat News 57, 30-31. McBride R. T. & Giordano A. J. 2010. First record of a white ocelot (Leopardus pardalis). The Southwestern Naturalist 55, 567-568. Nowell K. & Jackson P. 1996. Wild Cats, Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN/ SSC Cat Specialist Group, Gland, Switzer- land. 382 pp. Roberts T. J. 2005. Field guide to the large and medium-sized mammals of Pakistan. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. 259pp. Robinson R. 1969. The white tigers of Rewa and gene homology in the Felidae. Genetica 40, 198-200. Robinson R. 1970a. Homologous mutants in mammalian coat colour variation. Sympo- sium of the Zoological Society London 26, Fig. 1. Albino fishing cat captured in the vicinity of Hail Haor region of Sylhet, Bangla- 251-269. desh (Photo Ali Reza & Anthony J. Giordano). Robinson R. 1970b. Inheritance of the black form of the leopard (Panthera pardus). Genetica binism likely has selective disadvantages Bensch S., Hansson B., Hasselquist B., & Nielsen 41, 190-197.
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