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For the first clock time , scientist have spotted South Asian sportfishing cat-o'-nine-tails climbing tall tree to raid bird nest — display a rare and highly unusual behavior .
The researchers made the unexpected find using motion cameras set up in tree canopies in northeast Bangladesh , which captured 19 case of nocturnal predation by fishing cats ( Prionailurus viverrinus ) on two different wetland skirt colonies in northeast Bangladesh .
Fishing cats have special adaptations that allow them to hunt in water, including water-resistant fur and webbed paws.
" South Asiatic wetland are to a great extent anthropized , often transformed for aquaculture or loose - ranging duck pens , so the fishing cat might have an unknown dependency on the wetland bird colony , " say study co - authorMuntasir Akash , an adjunct professor in zoology at the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh . " Although sportfishing cats primarily course on Pisces the Fishes , there are story of it withdraw waterbirds such as moorhen , herons , egrets and cormorant , " Akash told Live Science .
scientist discover 282 twenty-four hours ' worth of footage to advance insight into sportfishing cats ' foraging patterns and human - big cat fundamental interaction , when they spotted the strange behavior .
In one case , researcher observed a computerized tomography sting the neck of a little Phalacrocorax carbo ( Microcarbo niger ) wench in a nest in the canopy of a 26 - foot - marvelous ( 8 meters ) Amerind oak tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree ( Barringtonia acutangular ) .
Fishing cats have special adaptations that allow them to hunt in water, including water-resistant fur and webbed paws.
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As the name suggests , sportfishing cats mostly eat fish and they have several adaptation that aid them catch their aquatic target , including two layers of body of water - resistant fur , semi - retractile chela and partially webbed forepaws .
allot to theSan Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance , these cats trace by jampack into shallow pee to scoop fish out with their paws , or dive headfirst into cryptic water to grab target with their tooth .
Despite these adaptations , sportfishing cats still retain many typical feline feature of speech that scientist say could aid their survival during monsoon season , when their common water - free-base search grounds are flooded or destroyed . " In monsoon season , almost the whole country becomes a wetland . So , where do they go at that time ? " Akash said . " It is a enigma , but the general solution would be the village groves [ where the waterbird can be detect ] . "
The metal money is currently rated as vulnerable by theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature , and their numbers are declining .
In accession to climate challenges , fishing qat also face conflicts with human beings as they are frequently hunted or aim off from fat fishing areas by the great unwashed .
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However , scientist say this latest evidence shows how fishing computerized axial tomography could live on during the rainy time of year , and that an ability to hunt down bird in the tree canopy could ply vital shelter and an alternative food source .
The researchers say the findings could aid preservation efforts , as this new evidence suggests sportfishing cat-o'-nine-tails might depend on the wetland razz settlement that are vulnerable to hunting and tree felling . " A stable population of wetland razz colonies might be a profits - win for the wetland , fishing cats and the local people who depend on the wetland , " Akash said .
