West Bengal: In a first, fishing cat spotted in Murshidabad, but dead

KOLKATA: A fishing cat, which is the state animal and also protected under Schedule l of the Wildlife Protection Act, was found dead in Murshidabad’s Beldanga on Wednesday. This, experts say, is probably the first record of a fishing cat in Murshidabad.
Divisional forest officer of Nadia and Murshidabad, Rana Dutt, said that they were told about the carcass by the officer in-charge of Beldanga PS and the BDO.“We have sent our staff from Berhampore to the spot at Mirzapur village. A postmortem will reveal the cause of death,” Dutt said.
There have been reports of fishing cat sightings in Nadia but none have been recorded in Murshidabad, at least in the recent past, he added.
A post by a social media group, The Fishing Cat Project, read: “Never before was a Fishing Cat ever reported from Murshidabad, West Bengal, but in all likelihood it was there because of the gangetic tributaries which flow through the landscape forming wetlands. So here is the first record but what a sad way to have evidence.”
According to a source, local foresters and officials concerned, along with conservationists from NGO Human and Environment Alliance League, are planning to take up awareness programmes in the area soon.
Foresters said they were probing the allegations that some locals killed the fishing cat. Killing a Schedule-I animal can lead to a jail term of three to seven years and a fine of up to Rs 25,000.