Possible new records of fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) from Peninsular Malaysia

Reprinted With Permission on 26 July 2006
Updated on 8 August 2006

Introduction

The feline diversity of continental Malaysia, due to its biogeographic history, shares characteristics of both the Indo-Chinese and Sundaland bio-regions. The disjunctive distribution of the fishing cat (Prionailurus viverinnus) is unique, and there is no other cat species found both in Thailand and Sumatra, but not in Peninsular Malaysia (Sunquist and Sunquist 2002).

Fishing Cats in Peninsular Malaysia

There are a few records of fishing cats from Peninsular Malaysia (Swinhoe 1982 in Melisch 1995, Van Bree and Mohd. Khan 1992), but the origin of these specimens is not clear (Van Bree and Mohd. Khan 1992). In this article, we present evidence for the first possible record of fishing cats from the wild in Peninsular Malaysia. If the species occurs in Peninsular Malaysia, it does so at an extremely low density as there are no confirmed records.

The Project

As part of the joint research project between University of Florida and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia to study the predator-prey community in Taman Negara, between November 1998 and August 2001 we sampled about 600 km2 of lowland to hill dipterocarp forest (70-898 m ASL) using camera-trapping, sign survey, and 100-m transect track-counts (Kawanishi and Sunquist 2004). Taman Negara is the largest protected, undisturbed forest in Peninsular Malaysia, and thus the most significant conservation unit in this region.

A picture of the mystery cat (bottom) and a serow (top, a mountain goat in SE Asian tropics). You can see the relative size of the cat compared the large mammal.

The Evidence

On 20 February 1999, we found a single fishing cat-like track with protruding claws clearly imprinted on a sandy river bank (4°37'N/102°06'30"E) of the Tanum River near Peningat Cave. With a maximum width (between outer digits) of 40 mm, it was not a small cat such as leopard cat or flat-headed cat. Because of the claws, the first impression was that of a dhole track, but the shape of the track was clearly of a cat. This confused the project's main tracker, Mr. Malek Sahak, who could not identify the species. With over 20 years of experience as a wildlife ranger in Malaysia, he had never seen anything like it.

With a total of 4533 wildlife photos collected with camera traps over 14,000 trap nights (1 trap night = 1 camera functioning for 24 hours), we successfully photo-captured all the medium to large terrestrial mammal species known to occur in the park except for the rhino. There was one photograph of an incomplete image of a small to medium-sized spotted cat with a short tail. This was taken on 14 August 2000 at 0721 hr along a ridge top at 610 m ASL (4°35'N/102°24'E) in a very remote part of Taman Negara, about 30 km east of the river bank where the fishing cat-like track was recorded earlier.

In the photo, it looks as if the cat jumped up onto the rock after being detected by the infrared sensor and the camera only captured the rear end of the animal. This animal could only be a leopard cat or a fishing cat. Although these cats are similarly marked, the leopard cat is smaller and slimmer, with relatively longer legs and tail. The tail lengths of leopard cats and fishing cats are about one-half to one-third of the head and body length, respectively.

The average weight of leopard cats in Peninsular Malaysia range from 0.55 to 1.48 kg kg (Lim 1999). The weight of fishing cats range from 5.1 kg in Nepal (Smith, J. L. D. pers. comm.) to 11.0 kg in Thailand (Lekagul and McNeely 1977). The cat's size can be approximated by comparing it to the photograph of a serow, Naemorhedus sumatrensis, with an average body weight of about 120 kg (Medway 1978) taken at the same trap location.

Based on this comparison, the cat in the picture does not appear to be a small cat. The body proportions also appear to be of a rather stocky cat, not a leopard cat, and if the photo shows its complete tail, it is definitely not a leopard cat. One could argue that the tail is curled laterally, thus hidden from the camera, but from the posture of the cat, it would be unusual for the animal to curl the tail laterally for balance after jumping onto the rock. Besides this mystery cat, leopard, clouded leopard, and marble cat were photo-captured at the same trap location.

Because of fishing cat's association with water, the elevation of 610 m ASL may seem unusual. However, water sources are common in the lowland to hill rainforest of Taman Negara, and the distance from the camera-trap location to the nearest creek was less than 1km and that to a major river was less than 3 km.

That this mystery cat is a fishing cat is further supported by information on habitat selection of leopard cats in Malaysia. Among all wild cat species, the leopard cat appears relatively common in Malaysia, but not in large tracts of undisturbed primary forest like Taman Negara. The total number of leopard cat photos was 61, which was identical to that of the tiger. In comparison, there were 150 photos of the leopard.

Of the 61 leopard cat photographs, 59 were from the only paved road in the park, leading to an oil palm plantation, and the last 2 were from a ridge top near the park boundary leading to another oil palm plantation. Only 6% of the total trapping efforts were expended on the paved road, while the remainder (94%) was in the forest. If this mystery cat is a leopard cat, it is the first leopard cat camera trapped in the interior of Taman Negara. If this mystery cat is a fishing cat, it is the first record of the species in the wild from Malaysia.

The mystery cat does not resemble the much larger fishing cats of India, but is similar to a young fishing cat camera-trapped in Kerinci Seblat in Sumatra (Matthew Linkie, Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, pers. comm.). A fishing cat was also camera-trapped in Bukit Barisan Selatan in Sumatra (Tim O'Brien, WCS Sumatra, pers. comm.).

Conclusion

We agree with the expert opinion (pers. comm. in litt.) of Peter Jackson (Advisor, IUCN Cat Specialist Group), Belinda Wright (Wildlife Protection Society, India), and Lim Boo Liat (Honorary Consultant, Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia) that "it is strong but inconclusive evidence of a fishing cat from Malaysia."

More "intensive" search for the presence of the species in the interior of Taman Negara is called for, but what can be more intensive than 14,000 camera trap nights spanning 28 months in 600-km2 of lowland-hill rainforest? Without a camera trap, the confirmation of the presence will be extremely difficult unless the cat can be live trapped. It is likely that the fishing cat will remain the mystery cat in Malaysia.

Acknowledgment

Financial support for the project was provided by the Save the Tiger Fund, a special project of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation created in partnership with ExxonMobil Corporation, University of Florida, Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-Japan, WWF-UK, WWF-Netherlands, and 21st Century Tiger - a partnership between Global Tiger Patrol and London Zoo.

All aspects of the fieldwork were supported by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia. We would particularly like to thank Malek Sahak, Ahmad Zaharudin, Kamarizuan Kamarudzzaman, Zamzuri bin Ishak, Song Horng Neo-Liang, Abraham Mathew, Abu Zahrim Ismail, and Hairul Azhar B. Harun for field assistance. Encouragement from Peter Jackson for writing this article is deeply appreciated.