Est. 2021 · Sindh, Pakistan
The last predator of the Indus flood plains.
The fishing cat was presumed extinct in Pakistan before IFCP's first confirmed sighting in 2021. We deploy camera trap networks across Sindh's wetlands to build the only active distribution record of Prionailurus viverrinus in the country and the scientific case for its survival.
We have this last predator in the Indus flood plains that greatly contributes to keeping aquatic animal populations healthy.
Zafeer Ahmed Shaikh
Founder & Head, Indus Fishing Cat Project
Our mission
Prionailurus viverrinus · Indus DeltaFind them. Study them. Make their survival worth fighting for.
Before 2021, fishing cats were widely believed to be functionally extinct in Pakistan. By following local knowledge, deploying motion-triggered cameras, and working closely with local partners, our small team confirmed not only that the species survives, but that its range stretches further across the Indus canal network than anyone had recorded. What began as a single-species search grew into a study of eight of Pakistan's small wild cat species and the wetlands, scrub, and mountains they depend on.
2021
Project founded
8
Small wild cat species in Pakistan
3
Provinces surveyed — Sindh, KPK, Balochistan
50%+
Estimated decline in 20 years
Species we study
One project, eight cats.
VulnerableFishing Cat
Prionailurus viverrinus
The species this project is named for; a wetland specialist found across the Indus delta.
Critically EndangeredJungle Cat
Felis chaus
Pakistan's most widespread small cat globally, but critically endangered at the national level.
Data DeficientAsiatic Wildcat
Felis lybica ornata
A desert and scrubland specialist recorded from Thar to the Sulaiman Range.
Critically EndangeredCaracal
Caracal caracal
Fewer than 100 individuals estimated to remain in Pakistan, found in Cholistan, Thar, and the hills of Balochistan.
Possibly ExtinctSand Cat
Felis margarita scheffeli
The only wild cat found exclusively in true desert, recorded in Pakistan's Kharan Desert, Balochistan, near the Afghan border.
Least ConcernMainland Leopard Cat
Prionailurus bengalensis
Found in temperate forests and woodlands of northern Pakistan, from the Karakorams and Himalayas down to the Margalla hills.
VulnerablePallas's Cat
Otocolobus manul
A high-altitude specialist adapted to rocky terrain and grasslands in Pakistan's northern mountains.
Critically EndangeredHimalayan Lynx
Lynx lynx isabellinus
A high-altitude specialist found in Pakistan's northern mountain ranges; the Himalayas and Karakoram. Extremely elusive and rarely documented.
The fishing cat is the last major predator left in the Indus floodplains.
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