Friday, September 18, 2009
CINCINNATI (AP) — The newest cats on display at Cincinnati’s zoo are making a splash with their fishing ability.
Three male members of an endangered feline family were born in June at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, doubling the number of “fishing cats” there. There are now about 50 of the cats in U.S. zoos.
Native to southern Asia, fishing cats inhabit wetlands and are good swimmers with webbing between their toes. The fishing cats take their name because they plunge into water to grab and eat fish.
They are two to three times the size of a house cat when fully grown.
Cincinnati’s zoo in 2003 helped establish the Fishing Cat Research and Conservation Project, which helps survey the animals’ populations in Asia and conducts ecological research.