An endangered fishing cat has died after sustaining injuries during an attack by villagers in the Pitsanulok Province just north of Bangkok. But there is a way to help.

Villagers found the fishing cat in a rice field and chased it up a tree, says fishing cat biologist Passanan “Namfon” Cutter. They then used a noose to pull the fishing cat down, reportedly for food.

A provincial authority rescued the cat, but the cat died about an hour before Cutter and a team of vets from the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand could arrive.

While, the death of this otherwise healthy, male fishing cat is a tragic blow to this imperiled species, something good may come from the incident. Fishing cats have now been found in a new area in Thailand, and Cutter has gained support from Thai officials.

“We have made some positive connections with some provincial authorities,”  wrote Cutter in a facebook reply. “They are very keen to help me do some surveys in the area where the cat was found, and then will help initiate a conservation campaign.”

Fewer than 10,000 fishing cats remain in the world, number-wise making them more endangered than the African lion.

Villagers tend to view fishing cats as pest or prey, but Cutter and her team are trying to dispel these preconceived notions. Her team is surveying populations and studying how the cat could help control crop pests and the spread of deadly disease.

1. Support Cutter’s study by donating to the Fishing Cat Research and Conservation Project.
2. Like the study’s facebook page.
3. Bone up on your fishing cat savvy and share its story.
4. Donate to CAT in WATER. It’s tax deductible! Your contribution will help purchase things like music rights or color correction for the fishing cat film.

For every gift of $20 or more, we’ll send you a 5×7 of “Rip Ear,” a real life wild fishing cat. Heck, if we hear you donated to Namfon’s project, we’ll send you a photo.

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There’s been a long bout of radio silence, but we’ve still been hard at work in the background.

As you may know we sought your help for coming up with a movie title. There was no shortage of clever submissions, but something that surprised us was how you rallied around our original project title. Several of you wrote in for CAT in WATER, and many others quickly shouted in with an emphatic, “definitely!” We can hardly blame you. It is fun to say.

So without further ado, feast your eyes on the first official CAT in WATER movie trailer!

Also stay tuned for the first sneak peek at the CAT in WATER book that will be heading free to our Kickstarter supporters soon. It is because of you that all this is possible.

With much admiration and thanks!

Mo and Jo

Our Thailand fishing cats and the remarkable Namfon and her team get their debut on ABC News. This is not by CAT in WATER, but is basically our project in a nutshell. Check it out!

“Once they finally made it to the marshy area around Sam Roi Yod in Thailand, the signs of the elusive fishing cat were everywhere.

There were pawprints. There was scat. There was a section of flattened grass where the cat had likely slept. And then there were all the reports from the villagers. (They’d just seen it. Or, it had just killed a prized chicken.)

But the fuzzy nocturnal creature that’s known for hunting for fish with its front paws in shallow waters lived up to its enigmatic reputation.

So Boulder residents Joanna Nasar and Morgan Heim — both alumni of the University of Colorado’s Center for Environmental Journalism — went to work trying to capture the animal on film, even when no one was around. “

Read the full article by environmental journalist Laura Snider online at: http://www.dailycamera.com/cu-news/ci_20344043/boulder-journalists-creating-documentary-elusive-fishing-cat!