Fishing kittens born in D.C.

May 30, 2013 • 2:41 pm

As reported at Asia Trail, a fishing cat female named Electra gave birth to two kittens just 13 days ago at Washington D. C.’s National Zoo.  Fishing cats (Prionailurus viverrinus) are rare and endangered, and births in captivity are also rare—this is only the second in a U.S. zoo. I’ve posted about this species before, and be sure to click on the link there to hear their strange cries.

Here’s mom and one baby:

fishing-cat

And the real excuse for this post: here’s a photo (from the DCist) of the kittens being weighed last week in a cup. Weight: 446 grams, just about a pound:

2eMV4
Photo courtesy of the National Zoo

I’d do just about anything to play with that kitten.

h/t: Sarah

18 thoughts on “Fishing kittens born in D.C.”

    1. Well, Jerry did suggest “almost anything.” Shirley, a few scratches would be worthwhile?

      What might be interesting would be when the kittens are at an age when they’re ready to learn to hunt. Then, with Mom in attendance, break out any standard cat toy. Could be fun to play with both Mom and the kittens, and she may well just go for it.

      b&

    2. Kitten is fully capable of pointing out the error of your affections all by itself.

      The Butchart Gardens, a famous show garden on the outskirts of Victoria, BC, has (or had?) a resident population of feral cats. I once made the mistake of picking up one of the kittens playing on the grass for some scrootches. Kitten was not impressed and demonstrated his displeasure immediately.

      Moral: keep such thoughts about petting wild cat kittens strictly in the realm of thought, not action.

  3. Aarrgghh! The domain is dead at the link you posted previously with the sounds!

    A big of quick Googling didn’t turn up any alternatives…anybody got any brilliant ideas?

    b&

    1. http://www.youtube.com
      /watch?v=M0l9P2ldwEE

      This has their vocalisation if that’s what you mean. I broke it half so it would embed so you’ll have to put it back together. It’s not a great video but you can see and here them.

  4. Love this from Asia Trail link above:-

    Fishing cats are named after their hunting technique. The majority of their diet consists of prey such as fish, frogs and aquatic birds, and they have a unique way of capturing their meals. By tapping their paws on the surface of the water, they trick prey into thinking the water ripples are from an insect. When the prey is close enough, the cat will either dive into the water after it or scoop it out using its partially webbed paw.

    Do the claws not retract? Eyes look different to most cats too [I think].

  5. Columbus Zoo and Aquarium has also had fishing cat kittens about 2 years ago.

    1. Not that I’m aware of, but they’re considered to be endangered due to habitat loss and over exploitation of fish stocks.

  7. I read somewhere long ago that the white mark behind the ears seen in many cat species is to get the attention of fellow cats about where they are looking/listening.

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