One Eyed Living

In Cambodia, images of fishing cats have been found carved in the walls of ancient structures, they are known as Kla Trey, “Tiger fish”.

Fishing cats are confident and content in the water, tapping the surface to lure prey, plugging their ears when they dive, emerging from the water with dry skin due to a double coat. Beyond their narrow eyes, dazzling black lines dance on their forehead and trail the length of their body, splintering into scattered spots on their flank.

Time is running out though.

Because of their dependency on water, fishing cats are threatened by the loss of wetlands, swamps and mangrove habitats. Urbanization, farming and other human-animal conflict also mean that populations are set to drop by up to 30%, and the fishing cat is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority, Ranthambore is the only source population of the big cats in the Ranthambhore-Mukundara-Kuno-Shivpuri-Madhav landscape, marked by fragmented forest patches, Chambal ravines, river streams and agriculture lands.

In small, isolated populations, like those of endangered species, individuals often mate with relatives. Such in**ed populations will be having harmful genes circulating among themselves, decreasing their fitness, or the survival and reproduction of such in**ed individuals.

This is called inbreeding depression, and can threaten the survival of these populations. Often called the small population paradigm in conservation biology, such small and isolated populations require monitoring and management.

What does the future of Ranthambore hold? How could the bad effects of inbreeding depression be avoided?