Cat out of the bag: Coastal and Gangetic plains outside protected areas require focus for fishing cat conservation in southern West Bengal, India

State of West Bengal is the last stronghold for fishing cats in the country. Although Fishing cats has been mentioned as a vulnerable wetland species, few works have been conducted on their distribution pattern, habitat or ecology. Our study uses camera traps in various urban and rural wetland areas of southern West Bengal spanning more than 67,000 km² to identify their presence. Out of 38 potential habitats, 24 regions came up with evidence of these cats spanning through the eight districts of southern West Bengal. We used presence absence data to fit an ensemble model to delineate suitable habitat for the species in the southern West Bengal. Results indicated areas less than 30 m of elevation and enough annual precipitation that functions healthy hydrological cycle in the areas of lower Gangetic plains to be most suitable for fishing cats. High mortality of the species due to retaliation and roadkill is a known fact for the species in the state. Hence, we also demarcated conservation priority zones for the species in the southern West Bengal which suggested agricultural lands (51.02 %), wetlands (21.22 %), vegetation cover (18.6 %) with populistic tourism spots in urban patches of southern West Bengal need to have focus from the concerned authority to save the remaining habitats. Accordingly, we further identified potential roadkill zones over state and national highways within the suitable habitat of the southern West Bengal.