Endangered Species:
🔸Efforts are being made to begin the country’s maiden exercise of collaring 10 fishing cats in the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary, situated in Andhra Pradesh.
🔸Experts to study the species’ ecology, home range, behaviour in different seasons, feeding habits, threats, movements and use of space.
Fish cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) is mammal double the size of domestic cat which is a native to wetlands, swamps and marshy areas.
Rapid depletion of wetland is posing a threat to the animal on a global scale and India is no exception.
Fish cat has been designated as ‘vulnerable’ in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary:
🔹It is a wildlife sanctuary and estuary situated in Andhra Pradesh.
🔹The sanctuary is a part of the Godavari estuary and has extensive mangrove and dry deciduous tropical forest.
🔹It is the second largest stretch of mangrove forests in India (after Sundarbans).
🔹It is home to the critically endangered white-backed vulture and the long-billed vulture.
🔹Its main wildlife attractions are Golden Jackal, Sea turtle, Fishing cat, Estuarine Crocodile, Small Blue Kingfisher, Cattle Egret.
🔹Hope Island and Sacramento Island located in the mangrove region are two important nesting sites for the endangered Olive Ridley turtles.
The Andhra Pradesh government has begun the process to get UNESCO world heritage status for Godavari Mangroves at Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary.
