IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Duckworth, J.W.; Stones, T.; Tizard, R.; Watson, S.; Wolstencroft, J. | |
| Does the fishing cat inhabit Laos? | |
| 2010 Cat News (52): 4-7 | |
No fishing cat _Prionailurus viverrinus_ record from Laos is supported by specimen or photograph. Historical reports derive only from works replete with major errors. Recent reports based only on tracks and/or villagers' reports cannot be assessed for reliability. Of three recent field sightings, one was probably a leopard cat _P. bengalensis_, one was seen too poorly for identification, but one was seen well and characters noted fit fishing cat. It was in a fast river through degraded hill evergreen forest. This habitat may be atypical for the species and the site may be unusually far inland: a critical review of South-east Asian distribution is needed. Typical 1990s-2000s mammal surveys in Laos were probably unsuited to detecting fishing cat: Lao status will remain unclear pending targeted survey. Further claims of this cat in Laos - indeed, inland South-east Asia - require documentation of evidence for identification. |
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