HOSHIARPUR, May 23: Three kittens of the Indian Fishing Cat—classified as ‘vulnerable’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)—have been spotted on a farm bordering a forest at the junction of Punjab’s Hoshiarpur and Rupnagar districts.
The kittens were discovered near a water body at the end of April, setting off waves of excitement among wildlife enthusiasts. The Indian Fishing Cat (Prionailurus viverrinus), primarily found in wetland-rich regions like the Sunderbans and floodplains of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Brahmaputra rivers, is rarely seen in Punjab. Its primary diet includes fish, snakes, amphibians, insects, and birds—making marshy or deltaic habitats more suitable for its survival.
“This is the first sighting in Punjab in nearly a decade,” said wildlife conservationist and former Honorary Wildlife Warden of Nawanshahr, Nikhil Senger. “They were last seen seven to eight years ago, also near a pond at a farm. This new sighting is significant, especially given ongoing habitat stress. It signals that we may have underestimated local biodiversity, and now we must act to sustain it.”
Initially, the kittens were mistaken for leopard cubs by villagers, leading to a crowd of over 100 gathering at the farm. It was the intervention of the village sarpanch that averted potential harm. The sarpanch promptly dispersed the crowd and contacted wildlife activists for proper identification.
Gaurav Rana, a local social activist involved in the rescue effort, recalled, “We almost started preparing to feed them milk, assuming they were leopard cubs. But once Nikhil Senger confirmed these were Indian Fishing Cats, we were advised to mix cereal with water and return them to where they were found.”
The kittens were kept under careful watch by laborers throughout the night. Around 2 am, the mother returned and took the kittens away—a moment conservationists described as critical to their survival, given their dependence on a wetland-based diet.
“Our main goal was to reunite the kittens with their mother. Without her, they wouldn’t have survived,” Senger added. “This discovery renews hope and underscores the importance of protecting lesser-known species and their habitats.”
The activists, who kept the find under wraps for several days to avoid disturbance, believe the area’s proximity to the forest and water source created a rare but viable habitat. They now call for further studies into the region’s biodiversity to better support sustainable wildlife conservation.
