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Journal of Threatened Taxa Building evidence for conservaton globally www.threatenedtaxa.org ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) Communication The Fishing Cat Prionailurus viverrinus (Bennett, 1833) (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) in Shuklaphanta National Park, Nepal Bhupendra Prasad Yadav, Angie Appel, Bishnu Prasad Shrestha, Bhagawan Raj Dahal & Maheshwar Dhakal SMALL WILD CATS 14 December 2020 | Vol. 12 | No. 16 | Pages: 17203–17212 SPECIAL ISSUE DOI: 10.11609/jot.6145.12.16.17203-17212 For Focus, Scope, Aims, Policies, and Guidelines visit htps://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/editorialPolicies#custom-0 For Artcle Submission Guidelines, visit htps://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions For Policies against Scientfc Misconduct, visit htps://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/editorialPolicies#custom-2 For reprints, contact <[email protected]> The opinions expressed by the authors do not refect the views of the Journal of Threatened Taxa, Wildlife Informaton Liaison Development Society, Zoo Outreach Organizaton, or any of the partners. 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Member Threatened Taxa Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 14 December 2020 | 12(16): 17203–17212 ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) PLATINUM OPEN ACCESS DOI: htps://doi.org/10.11609/jot.6145.12.16.17203-17212 #6145 | Received 13 May 2020 | Final received 18 September 2020 | Finally accepted 30 October 2020 C o m The Fishing Cat Prionailurus viverrinus (Bennet, 1833) m u n (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) in Shuklaphanta Natonal Park, Nepal i c सारांश: सन् १९२० दशक पिछ मलाह िबरालो Prionailurus viverrinus तराई CेEमा दे खा परेको हो। हाल यस CेEमा मलाह +बरालोको रे कडJ Bhupendra Prasad Yadav 1 , Angie Appel 2 , Bishnu Prasad Shrestha 3 , Bhagawan Raj Dahal 4 & a Kापक Lपमा राMखएको छ र यी PथानहL बीचको कनेMSिभटीको बारे मा Vानको अझै छ| सु दू र पि\म नेपालमा मलाह िबरालोको t पिन Maheshwar Dhakal 5 कमी i उपMPथितको ^पमा यो पिहलो फोटो`ािफक aमाणको ^पमा acुत गeरएको हो। सन् २०१६ को बसg र जाडो याममा शुiाफाँटा रािkl य o 1,3 n ि न कु m क ो बाढी`िषतDepartment मैदानमा १८० of Natonal-२२१ मीटर Parks को उचाइमाand Wildlife मलाह Conservaton, +बरालोको 5वत89 PO Box :;याकलापह= 860, Babar Mahal, गरेको Kathmandu,दे@खयो। यो मलाह Nepal. +बरालोको संDया 2 Wild Cat Network, Auf dem Dörnchen 14, 56470 Bad Marienberg, Germany. भारतीय संर@Fत Fे9ह=मा भएको4 Zoological संDया संग Society पिन जो:डएको of London हुन Nepal, ्सLछ Bishal। यो पाइने Nagar CेEह^को Marg, Kathmandu, बारेमा थप जाqकोNepal. लािग नेपाल र भारतको तराई CेEमा बrजgु aयोग गनs बाटो तथा5 Ministry िसमसार of CेEह^लाईForests and लिCत Environment, गरी थप अtन Singha गनुJ Durbar, आवwक Kathmandu, देMखxछ। Nepal. 1 [email protected], 2 [email protected] (corresponding author), 3 [email protected], 4 [email protected], 5 [email protected] सारांश: सन् १९२० दशक पिछ मलाह िबरालो Prionailurus viverrinus तराई CेEमा देखा परेको हो। हाल यस CेEमा मलाह +बरालोको रे कडJ Kापक Lपमा राMखएको छ र पिन Abstract:यी PथानहL The बीचको Fishing कनेMSिभटीको Cat Prionailurus बारे मा Vानको viverrinus अझै कमी is छ known| सु दू र पि\म to occur नेपालमा in मलाहthe Terai िबरालोको region उपMPथितको since at ^पमाleast योthe पिहलो late फोटो`ािफक 1920s. Contemporary aमाणको ^पमा localityacुत recordsगeरएको हो।of सन्the २०१६ Fishing को बसgCat inर जाडोthis याममाregion शुiाफाँटा are widely रािk lspaced,य ि न कु m क and ो बाढी`िषत the knowledge मैदानमा १८० about-२२१ मीटर the को connectvity उचाइमा मलाह between +बरालोको 5वत89these localites:;याकलापह= is stll defcient. We present the frst photographic evidence for the presence of the Fishing Cat in far western Nepal. In spring and winter 2016, weगरेको obtained दे@खयो। यो30 मलाह notonally +बरालोको independent संDया भारतीय events संर@Fत of Fे9ह=मा the Fishing भएको CatसंDया in संग the पिन foodplain जो:डएको ofहुन Shuklaphanta ्सLछ । यो पाइने NatonalCेEह^को बारेमाPark at थप elevatons जाqको लािग of नेपाल 181–221 र m.भारतको This तराईpopulaton CेEमा बrजgु unit may aयोग be गनs connected बाटो तथा िसमसार to units CेEह^लाई in Indian लिCत protected गरी थप अtन areas. गनुJ Furtherआवwक targetedदेMखxछ। surveys in adjacent wetlands and wildlife corridors are warranted to clarify its range in the Indian and Nepal Terai. Keywords: Camera trapping, small wild cat, Terai, wetland, wildlife corridor. सारांश: सन् १९२० दशक पिछ मलाह िबरालो Prionailurus viverrinus तराई CेEमा दे खा परेको हो। हाल यस CेEमा मलाह +बरालोको रे कडJ Kापक Lपमा राMखएको छ र पिन यी PथानहL बीचको कनेMSिभटीको बारे मा Vानको अझै कमी छ| सु दू र पि\म नेपालमा मलाह िबरालोको उपMPथितको ^पमा यो पिहलो फोटो`ािफक aमाणको ^पमा acुत गeरएको हो। सन् २०१६ को बसg र जाडो याममा शुiाफाँटा रािkl य ि न कु m क ो बाढी`िषत मैदानमा १८०-२२१ मीटर को उचाइमा मलाह +बरालोको 5वत89 :;याकलापह= गरेको दे@खयो। यो मलाह +बरालोको संDया भारतीय संर@Fत Fे9ह=मा भएको संDया संग पिन जो:डएको हुन ्सLछ । यो पाइने CेEह^को बारेमा थप जाqको लािग नेपाल र भारतको तराई CेEमा बrजgु aयोग गनs बाटो तथा िसमसार CेEह^लाई लिCत गरी थप अtन गनुJ आवwक देMखxछ। Editor: Shomita Mukherjee, Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore, India. Date of publicaton: 14 December 2020 (online & print) Citaton: Yadav, B.P., A. Appel, B.P. Shrestha, B.R. Dahal & M. Dhakal (2020). The Fishing Cat Prionailurus viverrinus (Bennet, 1833) (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) in Shuklaphanta Natonal Park, Nepal. Journal of Threatened Taxa 12(16): 17203–17212. htps://doi.org/10.11609/jot.6145.12.16.17203-17212 Copyright: © Yadav et al. 2020. Creatve Commons Atributon 4.0 Internatonal License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproducton, and distributon of this artcle in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publicaton. Funding: Zoological Society of London, Nepal. Competng interests: The authors declare no competng interests. Acknowledgements: The camera trap survey was conducted by Department of Natonal Parks and Wildlife Conservaton in partnership with Department of Forests, Natonal Trust for Nature Conservaton, Panthera, and Zoological Society of London Nepal. We thank these organisatons for technical and fnancial support. We are indebted to the management team and all the feld staf of Shuklaphanta Natonal Park for their support during the survey. We thank Meraj Anwar and Abishek Harihar for providing unpublished photographic records of the Fishing Cat in the Indian Terai. We highly appreciate the constructve suggestons and comments of three anonymous reviewers. 17203 J TT Fishing Cat in Shuklaphanta Natonal Park, Nepal Yadav et al. INTRODUCTION 2011; Mishra et al. 2018; Poudel et al. 2019) and in and around Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve (Pandey & Kaspal The Fishing Cat Prionailurus viverrinus has an extensive 2011; Taylor et al. 2016). but discontnuous geographic range in subtropical and Here we report the frst photographic evidence for tropical Asia, as it is strongly associated with inland the presence of a Fishing Cat populaton in Shuklaphanta and coastal wetlands (Mukherjee et al. 2016). These Natonal Park obtained during two monitoring surveys ecosystems have been imperilled since the early 20th targetng the Tiger Panthera tgris. Century due to large-scale conversions for agriculture, aquaculture, industry, hydropower plants (Gopal 2013; Davidson 2014; Dixon et al. 2016) and constructon of STUDY AREA brick kilns (Chakraborty et al. 2020a). The Fishing Cat is negatvely impacted by this loss of natural wetlands and Shuklaphanta Natonal Park (ShNP) is a 305km2 large is consequently listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List protected area in the Terai of southwestern Nepal (Fig. of Threatened Species, since populatons are thought 2), ranging in elevaton from 174m in the south to 1,386m to have declined in all range countries (Mukherjee et in the north-east (Bhuju et al. 2007). ShNP is bordered al. 2016). Outside protected areas, Fishing Cats have by farmland and setlements in the north, the Syali River been killed for consumpton, in retaliaton for preying in the east, and the Mahakali River in the south and west on livestock and for damaging fshing nets (Miththapala (Bharal & Inskipp 2009).