An endangered fishing cat has been beaten to death in Baraigram, Natore. The incident happened on the morning of Tuesday (12 May) in Dighalkandi village of Baraigram union in the upazila, where the animal was surrounded and beaten with bamboo and other sticks.

Locals said that for some time an unknown fierce animal had been carrying off ducks and chickens from homes in the area, and several goats in the fields had been attacked and torn at. The villagers then got together, tracked the animal down and beat it to death. Locals identified the dead animal as a civet, but local journalists said it was a fishing cat, a rare and endangered wild animal.

Upazila forest officer Satyen Sarkar, when contacted, confirmed that the animal killed was a fishing cat. He added that many people also call it the fishing cat or 'mechho biral'.

According to wildlife experts, the fishing cat does not usually eat or attack humans. It prefers to keep away from people and flees at any sign of danger. Fish is its main food, and it also hunts frogs, crabs, snails, snakes, birds and rodents. People mistake it for a big tiger, take fright and kill it for no reason.

Fishing cats help keep wetland ecosystems in balance. The species is endangered, and killing such an animal is a punishable offence under the wildlife conservation law.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.