By Herp News
[dropcap type=”4″]W[/dropcap]hen you count off the cat species that roam Africa – leopards, lions, cheetahs – you could be forgiven for not listing the African golden cat (Caracal aurata). This small, elusive forest dweller easily slips by unnoticed, and until very recently, failed to show up on the radar screens of most conservationists.Uncertainty and mystery shroud the golden cat: it’s one of the world’s least-studied felines. The
Small and powerful, the golden cat primarily hunts rodents on the forest floor. Photo credit: David Mills/ Panthera
“Since 2010, we have conducted seven camera surveys and accumulated nearly 300 independent golden cat captures in over 18,000 trap days,” David Mills told mongabay.com.One of the first thing scientists learned is that the golden cat is far more vulnerable to extinction than anyone knew.An update by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) just this year raised the stakes for the African golden cat from Near Threatened to Vulnerable. The rainforest-loving species has been hard hit by deforestation, with an estimated 30 percent loss in numbers over the past 15 years (that’s three golden cat generations). “Additionally, the exacerbation of these threats due to population growth, projected mining activities and forest clearance for oil palm plantations will likely cause further reduction,” by at least a further 30 percent in the next 15 years, reports the IUCN. Indeed, researchers say the cat disappears from forests with a heavy human presence.Unravelling an enigmaPrevious studies have suggested around 10,000 golden cats are left in the wild, but nobody is sure: it’s not a figure scientists Bahaa-el-din and Mills verified with their research. The species roams the equatorial forests of Africa over two separate regions – one stretching across Central Africa from Uganda west to Gabon, and the other in West Africa stretching roughly from Ghana west to Guinea. Its main stronghold is in the forests of the Congo Basin.Though the name suggests otherwise, the golden cat is not golden. Blends of golden/reddish-brown, grey and even black have been recorded. There’s some suggestion that the cat’s color may even change over time. One African golden cat is said to have changed color in captivity, but died soon after, with the change in hue possibly brought on by a special condition, rather than a common trait.The color variants confused scientists early on as they tried to classify the cat’s taxonomy. A similarity in size and appearance with the Asian golden cat initially placed it in the genus Profelis, though others designated it Felis. Recent molecular studies proved both to be mistaken; the African golden cat is unequivocally genetically closer to the caracal – a medium sized wildcat also known as the African lynx. This led scientists to rename the species Caracal aurata. The designation remains somewhat controversial, with some researchers still preferring to use Profelis aurata. The animal’s taxonomy is currently under review by the IUCN Cat Specialist Group.An adult African golden cat is small …read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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