Several residents in Ba Hoa islet, Binh
Thanh commune, Chau Thanh district, the Mekong delta province of An
Giang , have caught a number of fishing cats, a rare species listed in
the national Red Book of precious fauna and flora.
Banh Thanh Hung, Head of the Forest and Nature Reserve Guard Office of
the An Giang Forest Ranger Department, on Nov. 8 informed that the
office has released a fishing cat to the Tra Su cajeput forest in Tinh
Bien district.
Earlier in mid October, the office also released another fishing cat to the nature.
The fishing cats scientific name Felis Viverrina, live in fragmented
groups in China , Vietnam , Thailand , and Indonesia .
They mainly inhabit areas where there are streams and rivers of fresh
water, usually those covered by reeds, swamps, mangroves, and marsh.
As their name implies, they eat mostly fish. They will sit and wait on
the shore, and scoop the fish out of the water with its paws, and are
even known to dive for fish. They also eat frogs, snakes, crustaceans,
snails, birds, and small mammals./.