The fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus), one of Asia’s rarest small wild cats, has been confirmed for the first time in the restored flooded forests of Pursat province, around the Tonle Sap Lake, through 46 photos captured by camera traps in mid-2025.
“This is a significant discovery of more than a decade of management efforts, through close cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Environment, as technical advisers to Conservation International,” said a joint press release on Monday.
Vanessa Herranz Munoz, director of the Fishing Cat Ecological Enterprise and member of the Fishing Cat Technical Expert Group, confirmed that the images are indeed of the species.
“Records of this cat in South-East Asia are scarce, and its population in Cambodia is likely small. This is the second confirmed record of a fishing cat in the entire Tonle Sap area, and it gives us great hope for the recovery of this species,” she said.
The fishing cat is listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, with its global population estimated to be less than 10,000 individuals.
Fishing cats are attractive animals, about twice the size of a domestic cat, and mostly live solitary lives.
Environment minister Eang Sophalleth described the discovery as evidence of the growth of biodiversity in natural protected areas in Cambodia. — The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
