Effects of landscape and anthropogenic threats on the occurrence of the fishing cat in a human-dominated landscape

Fishing cat populations are decreasing globally, threatened throughout their range by habitat loss and increasing human-wildlife conflicts. Populations are often small and isolated, and there are still many questions around their occurrence throughout Southeast Asia, particularly factors affecting their persistence in anthropogenic landscapes. To address these gaps in knowledge, our study focussed on evaluating fishing cat occurrence around Songkhla Lake on two previously unassessed populations in southern Thailand, utilizing a single-season occupancy analysis, prey availability analyses as well as interview surveys for assessing the human dimension. Through an occupancy survey (February – August 2024), we confirmed the presence of two small, disconnected populations around the lake. Our occupancy analysis revealed a low probability of occupancy (ψ=0.15) across our study sites, and even lower detection probabilities (p=0.028). We also identified aquatic bird abundance and agricultural land cover as the two factors most influencing fishing cat occupancy probability, although both only indicated a trend rather than high statistical certainty. Our Bayesian Belief Network identified direct anthropogenic threats, including persecution, hunting, snaring and road kill, as the biggest threats to the fishing cat populations, overshadowing more indirect effects namely, habitat loss and fragmentation. These findings indicate an immediate need for conservation action to preserve the two populations. Education and community outreach programs will likely be important tools to involve local people in fishing cat conservation and to minimize areas of human-wildlife conflict.