Have you ever come across a nauseating fecal smell near a forested area? A smell so bad, that you’ve lifted your feet to see what caused it (while listing down the choicest of expletives for the occasion, in your head), and could not for the life of you find anything plastered on the soles of your shoes. Bewildered, you would then look around only to find the source of foul stench – a somber, striped, elongated cat-like creature running for cover. If the answer is yes, then you have unwittingly startled a small Indian civet (Viverricula indica) and it excreted a secretion to deter you. This odour is so strong, that in Sinhala there is a saying “උරුලෑවා ගිය පාර වගේ” which means “like the road which the civet took”.
Funny thing is, that the very secretion which can contort your face like modeling clay due to its pungent nature, is prized by high-end perfume makers. Why? Because it apparently smooths out the overall composition of perfumes. So essentially, it went from stench to scent, all because of that one really optimistic perfumer who braved to think, “what if…”.
Spread throughout the country where adequate forest/jungle cover is found, small Indian civets are mainly solitary, nocturnal (there are reports of diurnal sightings), and territorial. Because of their distinct stripes spot combination in their pelt and the ring formation in their tails, they are pretty easy to identify and sometimes get mistaken for fishing cats! They love to keep their mitts on the ground but they do happen to be good tree climbers as well, as evident by them preying on birds roosting on branches at night. Also, they are notorious for raiding inefficiently secured chicken coops if they happen to be within the vicinity. Though they love chicken, they are not primarily carnivores but are omnivores, sticking to a diet of insects, fruit, roots, rodents and carrion, if any. So, in an indirect way they also take on the role of pest control agents.
Both sexes do engage in scent marking but come mating season, the males go into a sort of frenzy and mark their scent on any vertical object they can find (they also happen to be very attentive in general when it comes to scent marking, during mating season or otherwise). After copulation, three to five young can be expected in a litter. They are a polyestrous species, which means that they can breed multiple times a year.
Not even their stinky secretions can save them indefinitely as they are targeted for their secretions or the “civet musk” which is used in the perfume industry (as mentioned before) and in medicine. They are also hunted for their pelts but luckily, like the Asian water monitors (Varanus salvator salvator), they do experience a sort of an amnesty in Sri Lanka, where deforestation is a major factor which affects their survival.
When compared with a house cat, who is either pampered beyond all means or gets yelled at for eating off the counter (whatever is appropriate), the fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) is a more hardened, salt of the earth type. They are four times the size of a normal house cat and their tubby frame is supported with rippling muscles that show off their “everyday I’m hustlin” lifestyle. The short and coarse fur which covers them has a lovely olive yellowish-grey color to it and their whole body is teeming with stripes and spots, which looks like morse code (good luck trying to decipher what it says). Each fishing cat has his or her own unique set of stripes and spots and all of them have four stripes that run from their forehead to their back, and two stripes which run from their eyes to the side of their faces, like some cool Maori tribal tattoo. It’s this cryptic couture that gave birth to its local names, “Andhun Diviya / අඳුන් දිවියා or Handhun Diviya / හඳුන් දිවියා” (Andhun / අඳුන් refers to the dark complexion of their coat. Handhun / හඳුන් on the other hand, refers to sandalwood. Not because they smell seductively of Rani Sandalwood Soap – which is highly unlikely – but because the sandalwood bark has somewhat the same color palette as their pelage.
Fishing cats have a comparatively large head with a broad forehead and an elongated muzzle, all attached to a muscle bound neck, which gives them their signature village gangster (chandi / චණ්ඩි) look. Their uncharacteristically cute, button-like ears may look adorable but they are like satellite dishes when it comes to picking up sounds without moving their heads, so good luck sneaking up on them or any cat for that matter – a cat’s ear is controlled by 32 muscles, giving them the ability to rotate them a full 180 degrees. The back of a fishing cat’s ears are black with a bright white spot in the middle, which might serve as a false eye to deter predators, like with tigers, or serve as a visual cue to the cubs when following their mother. Plus, they have the ability to plug up their ears, to prevent water from getting in, when they take a dive to catch fish (the perfect adaptation to have around annoying people. Worthless conversation? Plug up your ears! It’s that easy). When talking about their fur, they have two layers. The first is like thermal underwear, which you would wear in teeth-chattering cold climates to protect the valuables, as it regulates core body temperature and acts as a waterproof barrier (this same arrangement can be seen in polar bears). The second layer sprouts from the first as long guard hairs and is what gives them their characteristic color palette. Their tails are about half their body length and are thick, and patterned with incomplete rings which end with a solid black tip.
Fishing cats are adapted to a semi aquatic lifestyle in wetlands, marshlands and other habitats that have a good source of flowing water. Which means they are not afraid to get wet (made you look at your cat with disdain, didn’t I?). But this does not mean that you can let off a sigh of relief and pop into the nearest wetland and adopt one. You will be in for a rude awakening, as they can be quite aggressive when they want to! Much like anyone who doesn’t want to be bothered! So, as you do with all wild animals, respect their personal space and privacy at all times and observe from a distance. They are expert anglers (no, they don’t fish with bait and hook) and how they net fish is by using their paws to scoop fish out of the water (if the water is shallow) or by diving headfirst (if it is a bit deep). They are known to tap the surface of the water (to mimic an insect) to lure fish to the surface, sort of like a cruel knock knock joke (“knock knock – who’s there? – Imma fish – Imma fish who? – Imma fish you”).
A very widespread misconception is that fishing cats have webbed feet. Well they’re not ducks to have webbed feet, and what they do have is this crude, underdeveloped webbing of sorts between their toes. And it turns out that this webbing isn’t any different to that of a bobcat (Lynx rufus), though it does look slightly fleshier than a caracal’s (Caracal caracal, keep in mind though, that this is a dead caracal, so its skin might be stiffer than normal). Webbing, or no webbing, this has not been a setback at all to these magnificent creatures as they have found their niche in wetlands and claimed it as theirs for the taking. Just because they are adapted to hunt fish effectively does not mean that they are strict pescatarians (meaning individuals who only eat fish and not meat) but they do hunt rodents, reptiles, and crustaceans.
Caracal paw showing webbing. Photographed during a necropsy performed by the Urban Caracal Project team.
Because of their ninja lifestyle, very little is known of their behaviour. They are known to be solitary, territorial animals and a male’s territory usually overlaps with the territories of several females. They have been observed marking their territories with strong smelling urine and by rubbing their heads and cheeks on tree surfaces and such. Because of their elusive nature, little is known about their vocal cues but they have been observed making hisses (no they don’t speak parseltongue), guttural chuckles or quacks (now don’t try to make a guttural chuckle you’ll just end up coughing. Believe me I just did. The quack sounds like an angry Donald Duck yelling his heart out after realising that Pluto did his business on the front porch, AFTER he stepped on the “business”) and the occasional demanding “meow” in a low pitch. Come mating season, both sexes have a specific “bedroom voice” vocal cues called “chittering” where the female indicates that she’s ready and the male indicates that he’s being submissive. After copulation, two kittens per litter are born after a 63-70 day gestation period into a den inside a tree hollow, or a narrow rock opening etc. A newborn kitten weighs around 170 grams (the approximate weight of a full Milo UHT packet).
The biggest threat that they experience currently is habitat destruction. Every day, when you log onto your social media or listen to the news, there is at least one news piece about unwarranted forest and wetland clearing, which causes irreversible damage to the world’s fragile ecosystems. Not just fishing cats, but an untold number of flora and fauna will be forever lost if we do not voice our strong opinions. Together, we can achieve much more and come forth to give voice to the voiceless.
With a permanent look of indifference about everything plastered over their faces (resting monitor face) and a periodic flicking of their forked tongues going on (which is how they analyze the chemical composition of the air), Asian water monitors (Varanus salvator salvator) are more than what meets the eye. Plus, the subspecies found in Sri Lanka is morphologically unique! Which means that their size, shape and the structure is completely different to the subspecies found in other countries. Locally they are called “Kabaragoya / කබරගොයා” or “Kabaraya / කබරයා” where ”kabara” means spotted and ”goya” means like a lizard.
Asian water monitors – let’s call them water monitors from now on – are quite formidable creatures and they happen to be the second heaviest lizard species in the world (komodo dragons take up first place). They are excellent swimmers, which in no small part is aided by their muscular tail as they keep their limbs tucked to their sides (similar to marine iguanas. Another example would be the Zilla from the 1998 movie “Godzilla”) while swimming. That tail not only aids in swimming, but its tapered, whip-like structure has enabled them to use their tails with deadly precision to defend themselves.
Water monitors are built for survival in their habitat, packing an impressive array of sharp claws (they are excellent tree climbers), serrated teeth, powerful jaw muscles, and a durable hide (which has found its way into the local vernacular as “කබර හම / kabara hama” to mean “thick skinned”). Speaking about their sharp claws, there are local legends about thieves using water monitors and land monitors as impromptu grappling hooks because once a monitor grabs onto something, it would die before letting go. Their grip strength is that powerful! Their keen sense of smell helps them locate carrion from far away, and coupled with the fact that monitors do not monitor what they consume (their diet includes fish, snakes, frogs, crabs, rodents, young crocodiles, and if the occasion calls for it, turtles too) has earned it good graces – and a huge respect for its personal space – with the locals, because they take their duties as scavenger and pest control agent very seriously.
Image taken from the Urban Wildlife Map.
This buffet approach to their carnivorous diet enables them to grow to truly unprecedented dimensions, where the largest ever recorded was caught in Sri Lanka and measured 10.5 feet (that’s a half a foot less than a standard Maruti Suzuki Alto 800, if we were to scale).
If you do happen to see two water monitors engaged in what seems like an impromptu sumo match (wrestling with each other standing on their hind legs), they are not mating, or hugging, or dancing. But are most probably resolving some kind of issue – maybe one did cross into the other’s territory or vice versa. When they do mate, the male climbs on top of the female and the bodies look entwined. After copulation, the female lays a batch of five to 22 leathery eggs in a hole on level ground or a vertical embankment (batch sizes vary with the size of the female).
Water monitors are extremely adaptable, but their survival depends on the fact that there is no extensive loss of vegetation and aquatic resources, something which is dwindling faster than they can adapt. It is up to us to preserve and protect a world that both water monitors and we can call home.
If you happen to notice that one has made its way into your own garden, don’t panic! Close any entry points that lead into your house, and patiently wait until it goes away. They really mind their own business and if you try to show it the business end of a sharp stick or do anything to irritate it, it will defend itself (much like you and I would). So, keep calm and just wait it till it goes away.
Urban Wildlife Series: Test your artistic skills
We asked our followers on social media to show us their artistic talents by colouring in the otter this week. Here are the entries we got!
