For the first time in the world, the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Kerala received training for tiger cubs to enable them to naturally hunt in a forest environment.

 

♦ Breaks in the districts of Idukki and Pathanamthitta in Kerala (located in the southern region of the Western Ghats).

♦ It was declared in 1950 as a protected area and in 1978 as a Tiger Reserve. Its name comes from the River Periyar, which originated within the reserve.

♦ The Mullayar and Periyar rivers are the principal rivers flowing through the reserve.

Flora:

♦ Tropical evergreen, semi-evergreen, moist deciduous forest and grassland are included in the protected area.

♦ There are approximately 1966 flowering plant species that grow in this reserve.

♦ About 516 of them are endemic to the Western Ghats.

♦ The sanctuary is a medicinal plant warehouse, with about 300 species in number.

♦ Some species, such as Syzygium periyarensis (a tree), Habenaria periyarensis (an orchid) and Mucuna pruriense thekkadiensis, are endemic to the region (a climber)

♦ Mammals: Tiger, Elephant, Lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri Tahr etc.

♦ Birds: Darters, Cormorants, Kingfishers, the great Malabar Hornbill and racket-tailed Drongos.

♦ Reptiles: Monitor Lizards, Python, King Cobra etc.

♦ There are six tribal communities in the reserve, such as Mannans, Paliyans, Malayarayans, Mala Pandarams, Uralis and Ulladans.

 

A global initiative to increase understanding of the welfare of fishing cats has been initiated by the Fishing Cat Conservation Alliance.

 

♦ The Fishing Cat Conservation Alliance is a team of conservationists, researchers and enthusiasts who are dedicated to ensuring the survival of fishing cats by establishing a working floodplain and coastal ecosystem. It`s twice the size of a household cat.

♦ There are nocturnal fishing cats. Cats also feed on frogs, crustaceans, rodents, birds and the oesophagus of large animal carcasses, in addition to fish. All year round, this species reproduces. They spend the majority of their lives by the water in thick vegetation and are exceptional swimmers.

♦ In the Eastern Ghats, fishing cats are distributed in patches. They abound in estuarine floodplains, marine freshwater ecosystems and coastal mangroves.

♦ Fishing cats also inhabit the Chillika Lagoon in the mangroves of Odisha, Coringa and Krishna and the adjacent wetlands, in addition to the Sundarbans in West Bengal and Bangladesh.

♦ Prionailurus viverrinus is the scientific term for cat-fishing. IUCN Fishing Cat Status is Insecure. Despite facing numerous threats, "fishing cats" have recently been listed as "endangered" as "vulnerable" in the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List species assessment.

♦ In the unprotected and human-dominated landscape northeast of the Western Ghats in Andhra Pradesh, the Catching Cat Conservation Alliance has begun to research the biogeographical distribution of cats captured.

♦ The government of West Bengal officially declared the fishing cat as a national animal in 2012, and the Kolkata Zoo has two wide fences dedicated to it.

♦ Many NGOs and organizations for the conservation of wildlife have engaged in the study and protection of "fishing cats" in Odisha. Launched in 2010, the `Fishing Cat Initiative` started to raise awareness of West Bengal cats.