Carys Matthews is a freelance writer for Live Science and has a passion for the natural world. Most recently the group digital editor of BBC Wildlife and BBC Countryfile Magazine, she writes about the outdoors, nature and health and fitness. Prior to this she has worked for a number of sports and environmental titles in the U.K.
For the first time, scientists have spotted South Asian fishing cats climbing tall trees to raid bird nests — displaying a rare and highly unusual behavior.
"South Asian wetlands are heavily anthropized, often transformed for aquaculture or free-ranging duck pens, so the fishing cat might have an unknown dependency on the wetland bird colonies," said study co-author Muntasir Akash, an assistant professor in zoology at the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh."Although fishing cats primarily feed on fish, there are reports of it taking waterbirds such as moorhens, herons, egrets and cormorants," Akash told Live Science.
In one case, researchers observed a cat biting the neck of a little cormorant chick in a nest in the canopy of a 26-foot-tall Indian oak tree . As the name suggests, fishing cats mostly eat fish and they have several adaptations that help them catch their aquatic prey, including two layers of water-resistant fur, semi-retractile claws and partially webbed forepaws.
Despite these adaptations, fishing cats still retain many typical feline features that scientists say could aid their survival during monsoon season, when their usual water-based hunting grounds are flooded or destroyed."In monsoon season, almost the whole country becomes a wetland. So, where do they go at that time?" Akash said."It is a mystery, but the general answer would be the village groves .