Fishing cat
Amazing fact
A fishing cat has been seen swimming underwater to grab a duck by the legs.
San Diego Zoo
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
A fishing cat has been seen swimming underwater to grab a duck by the legs.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Fishing cat
- Scientific name
- Prionailurus viverrinus
- Japanese name
- スナドリネコ
- Group
- Land mammals
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Carnivora
- Family
- Felidae
- Genus
- Prionailurus
There is a web-like membrane between the toes of its front feet, and unlike many cats, it readily swims.
Written in kanji, its Japanese name means "fishing cat," and true to its name, it is good at catching fish.
How the Fishing cat lives
It is active at night. It wades in shallow water and scoops fish out with its paws. The young learn to fish by watching their mother.
Smithsonian National ZooSan Diego ZooBasic data
- Size
- Body length: 85–115 cmSmithsonian National Zoo
- Weight
- males 8–14 kg, females about 5–9 kgSmithsonian National Zoo
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)Smithsonian National Zoo
- Diet
- Small mammals and fishSmithsonian National Zoo
- Range
- South Asia, Southeast Asia, southern China, and elsewhere鳥羽水族館
Where the Fishing cat has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- スナドリネコ
- 简体中文
- 渔猫
- 繁體中文
- 漁貓
- 한국어
- 고기잡이삵
- Español
- Gato pescador
- Français
- Chat Pêcheur
- Deutsch
- Fischkatze
- Português (Brasil)
- Gato-pescador
- Italiano
- Gatto pescatore
- हिन्दी
- मछुआरी बिल्ली
- العربية
- قط سماك
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Kucing bakau
- Tiếng Việt
- Mèo bắt cá
- Русский
- Кошка-рыболов
- Türkçe
- Balıkçı kedi
- ไทย
- เสือปลา
- বাংলা
- মেছোবাঘ
- اردو
- مچھلی خور بلی
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 鳥羽水族館 — スナドリネコChecked: 2026-11-03
- Smithsonian National Zoo — Fishing catChecked: 2026-11-03
- San Diego Zoo — Fishing CatChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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