The Cat That Went Fishing — And Somehow Keeps a Job

Picture this: a wild cat that loves water, hates drama, and looks like someone crossed a leopard with an otter after a long lunch. Meet Sri Lanka’s Fishing Cat (Prionailurus viverrinus), short-legged, semi-aquatic, and the only feline on the island with a real work ethic.

While most cats spend their lives perfecting the art of “doing nothing elegantly,” this one wades through marshes catching dinner. It’s basically the blue-collar cousin in a family of influencers.

Discover Sri Lanka’s elusive fishing cat and the wetlands it calls home.

The Cat, the City, and the Vanishing Puddle

Here’s the irony: this wild fisherman thrives in wetlands, those squishy, soggy, “undeveloped” bits we can’t stop paving over. And yet, it’s turning up right in Colombo’s backyard. Yes, while you’re stuck in traffic at Nugegoda, there might be a wet-footed cat quietly commuting through a drainage canal.

It’s on the IUCN Red List as Vulnerable, which is a polite way of saying “halfway to disappearing.” Every time we drain a marsh to build another mall or “eco-luxury” apartment, we basically evict a creature who’s been paying rent in fish for centuries.

Why This Matters(When Progress Gets Mud on Its Boots)

Developers call them “unused lands.”Fishing cats call them “home.”Guess who wins?

Across Sri Lanka, wetlands are being filled, fenced, or fragranced into oblivion. From shrimp farms to housing projects, we keep proving we’re excellent at removing the inconvenient parts of nature, until floods remind us why they were there.

So why should we care about a fishing cat's home? Because wetlands matter. And because this cat is a vivid, quirky ambassador for them.

• Wetlands act like nature’s sponges and filters, buffering floods, cleaning water, supporting biodiversity.

• When we drain or fill wetlands, we lose more than surface water, we lose ecological memory, complexity, resilience.

• The Fishing Cat lives in these wetlands. Its decline signals the decline of the whole system. As one article put it: “Saving Asia’s fishing cat means protecting threatened wetland habitat.” Mongabay

• And here’s the urban twist: In Sri Lanka, this cat is not always hiding in deep jungle. It’s been found in peri-urban and urban wetlands around Colombo. PMC+1 So when your city fills in marshes to build malls, the fishing cat doesn’t just lose habitat—it loses home.

In short: If you care about biodiversity, water, cities, future generations... this modest wetland-angler has your attention.

The Challenge (Not Just Sighing at Developers)

Here’s where the tone shifts from “cute cat” to “oh dear, ecological crisis”. But don’t panic-scroll yet... there’s hope.

Habitat Disappearance & Urban Pressure

The fishing cat depends on wetlands: marshes, mangroves, slow-moving rivers, reed beds. In Sri Lanka and elsewhere these habitats are being drained, filled, polluted or converted to shrimp farms, aquaculture, agriculture, or housing. +

In Colombo, wetlands have been reclaimed, built over, or neglected, even though they might hold populations of fishing cats.

Conflict, Misunderstanding & Lack of Data

The fishing cat is rarely studied in depth. Its behaviour in urban wetlands, its population size, its connectivity between fragmented habitats, many gaps exist.

Also: it sometimes ventures into fish ponds or aquaculture areas, meaning people see it as a nuisance or a “problem”. +

Urban Biodiversity? Look Around.

“Urban biodiversity” is not just about pigeons and stray dogs. The fishing cat reminds us that even cities contain critical wetland ecosystems. If we ignore them, we lose splashes of life, and all their hidden functions.

Who’s Rolling Up Their Sleeves

Good news: there are people doing good things. Not capes, no hero-soundtracks, just clever, caring folks.

• The Urban Fishing Cat Conservation Project in Colombo (led by Anya Ratnayaka) is mapping the cat’s urban wetlands, raising awareness among city-dwellers, showing that this creature exists next to us. Re:wild+1

• International networks like the Fishing Cat Working Group bring together researchers from South and Southeast Asia to share data, strategies, and raise the cat’s profile. Big Cat Rescue+1

• On-the-ground conservation: protecting wetland patches, engaging local communities around fish ponds, integrating urban planning, all help create real habitat solutions. Mongabay+1

What You Can Do (Because Yes — You Can)

What You Can Do

Yes, even you, reading this mid-tea, can help. Pick a tier. Do one. Or two. No guilt.

Easy

• Share this story with someone who thinks “wetlands” are just mosquito factories.

• Post the line: “I helped a fishing cat today... by not filling a puddle.”

• Next time you see reeds or herons near a city canal, smile. That’s a miracle, not a mess.

Practical

• When you hear of a “new development,” ask if it’s paving over a marsh.

• Support wetland-protection projects or local groups restoring biodiversity. (click)

• Visit places like Diyasaru Park, proof that urban nature can coexist with cappuccinos.

  
  

Deep

• Volunteer with an urban-wildlife project: wetlands, citizen science, camera-traps – ask about the fishing cat. (click)

• Donate or fundraise for the Urban Fishing Cat Conservation Project or similar. (click)

• Build awareness: hold a community workshop, at your school or neighbourhood, about how wetlands and species like the fishing cat connect to floods, climate resilience, urban green space.

Last Thought (with a fishy twist)

The fishing cat doesn’t want your garden.

It just wants a little water, a few fish, and a chance to exist without being mistaken for a “stray.” If a soggy little wildcat can survive in Colombo, maybe there’s hope for the rest of us too.

For Advocates

You’re already lighting the way. Forward this to someone who thinks “wildlife” begins only in remote jungles.

For New Readers

If this found its way to you, welcome. Join us to become an Advocate... Learn, Share, Act. www.srilankasendangered.com

What We Still Need to Know

Science / Nature: 

• How many fishing cats live in urban wetlands of Sri Lanka, and what is their population trend?

• What micro-habitat features (reed density, water depth, human noise) do they need most?

Social / Cultural: 

• What do the neighbourhoods around these wetlands think of “that wild cat with webbed feet”?

• Do attitudes differ between older/non-urban residents and city-dwellers?

• Could local traditions or storytelling help protect these cats?

  
  

Policy / Systems: 

• Are wetlands in cities like Colombo being protected legally the way forests or parks are?

• What enforcement mechanisms exist for remaining urban wetlands?

Innovation / Tech:

• Could citizen-science apps, motion-camera traps, or drone surveys reveal hidden fishing-cat populations in unexpected places (school ponds, plant nurseries with marshy patches)?

Moral / Emotional:

• What does our treatment of urban wetlands, filling, ignoring, converting—say about how we value nature within “our” spaces? If the fishing cat vanished silently from a city park, would we notice or care?

If you know someone working on these questions invite them to help - click here. or if you are that someone click here or reach out to us at experts.srilanka@theplayn.com Your insight could shape version 2.

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