The Chilika Lake, Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon, has 176 fishing cats, according to a census conducted by Chilika Development Authority (CDA) in collaboration with The Fishing Cat Project (TFCP).
This is the world’s first population estimation of the fishing cat, which has been conducted outside the protected area network.
The fishing cat is a highly elusive wild cat species, found primarily in wetland and mangrove habitats
They are classified as Vulnerable under The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species and Endangered within their range countries.