Wild Fishing Cat Sighted in West Bengal’s Howrah; Locals Mistook Animal For Tiger

A fishing cat, one of the endangered animals in India, has been spotted in West Bengal’s Howrah district this week.  On August 31, a CCTV camera installed in the area captured a fishing cat. The residents of Sardar Para of the East Korala area of Domjur block in Howrah are in a state of panic after this incident. Without verifying, local media mistook a fishing cat for a tiger and reported that a tiger was spotted in the area.

According to locals, a strange creature was spotted by some youths in the area on August 31. The youngsters were terrified thinking that the animal was a tiger. This was reported by several local media outlets which spread panic among people who had not seen any tiger in the area for many years. Later, a CCTV camera of the area was checked and it was found that the animal was a fishing cat.

Meanwhile, many local online portals compared the animal to a tiger. As a result, the people of the area armed with traditional weapons started looking for the animal in the forest at night.

Shubhdeep Ghosh, secretary of the Howrah District Joint Environment Forum, an environmental organization, lashed out at the online news portals. He said that due to a lack of awareness about wildlife among the rural population, his organization members have to face various challenges to protect wildlife in rural areas.

“Fake news not only frightens the people of the area but also endangers the life of that endangered species. We have lodged a complaint with the Forest Department. We have also distributed the research booklet of ‘The fishing cat project’ to the people,” he said.

Nirmal Mandal, Forest Range Officer (Howrah Urban) urged people not to panic and spread rumors. He said, “The footage and footprints found in the CCTV prove that the animal is a fishing cat. The animal’s main food is fish. The animal does not cause harm to humans. On the contrary, they benefit people by eating rats and other small animals that inflict harm on agricultural produce.”

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