African Golden Cat Habitat

Forest, South Senegal, Casamance region
Photo by Manogamo

The habitat of the African golden cat is all types of tropical forest in equatorial Africa. This includes primary forest, secondary vegetation, logged forest, riverine forest, montane forest, alpine moorland and bamboo forest at 2-3,000 meters above sea level.

The photograph shows an area of south Senegal below The Gambia, a region that is the furthest west of the range of the African golden cat.

This species of wildcat prefers dense "moist secondary undergrowth" along rivers (1).

The African golden cat has a short tail and stocky build indicating that it is not a tree dweller. Long tails are used for balance. Accordingly this cat is a ground hunter.

Note:
(1) Wild Cats Of The World page 248 ISBN-13:978-0-226-77999-7

African Golden Cat Pet

People search the internet for "african golden cat pet" - hence this page.

The African golden cat is extremely rare in captivity. In the USA the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) list one cat in a licensed facility in the country (1). And there is one in a private facility. These cats will die without breeding.

The point I am making is that the rarity of this wildcat in the West indicates that there will be no pet cats of this species. In addition it will be unsuitable as a pet. You'll need to socialize kittens for that. It would be wrong and in breach of CITES to try and find kittens in the wild in African for the sole purpose of selling them as future pets in the West (i.e. exporting wildcats).

Some wildcats are more suited, namely the serval and margay. The Asiatic golden cat, a different species, is less rare in captivity.

Note:
(1) Feline Conservation Federation July/Aug edition of magazine.

Is world demand for palm oil endangering the African golden cat?

The big international companies are moving into Africa for the land and the minerals. China is all over Africa for metals to supply their massive manufacturing industry that supplies the world with cheap consumer goods. Electronic goods need precious metals.

Palm oil is grown in equatorial Africa by small holding farmers. That is natural and obviously good for the local economy at that kind of scale. But when all the forests have been logged in Malaysia to make room for palm oil plantations the multinational companies have to move elsewhere to find virgin landscapes. There is still a lot of that in Africa. This why the African golden cat can survive in deep forest environments. Until now.

The forests of equatorial Africa, the territory of the African golden cat are being cut down to make way for palm oil plantations. This mirrors the destruction of virgin forest in Borneo for paper manufacture. The Bay cat lives in the Borneo forests.

It is not only the African golden cat that will suffer and gradually become extinct, I predict, in the wild. The local people will also suffer loss - financial loss.

The governments of Africa must think long term. They are leasing large areas of land to big business for instant profit. In the long term what will be the consequences?

African Golden Cat Video

African Golden Cat - from the video.

This is a truly remarkable video of this elusive small wild cat. Until we saw this video there were a few limited photographs circulating around the Internet. That was it. We can now see the cat on film.



We can see how well spotted the cat is on the lower flanks and undersides and how the coat changes quite dramatically on the cat's back. The color is quite dense and dark on the cat's back. The coat is very short. It looks like a single coat; very tight, in complete contrast to coats of cats in much colder climates.

The head is quite long. The body very muscular and not slender (c.f. the serval for example). The tail is relatively short. This is not a tree dwelling cat but a ground hunter.

It is also surprising that we are only beginning to see what this cat looks like in 2011. It's habitat is being eroded.

References

(1) I have referred to Wild Cats of the World by Mel and Fiona Sunquist. ISBN-13:978-0-226-77999-8

(2) IUCN Red List™

(3) Wild cats: status survey and conservation action plan By Kristin Nowell, Peter Jackson, IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group (on habitat - quote)

African Golden Cat Status

Africa Golden cat status in the wild and captivity.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species classifies the African Golden Cat as Near Threatened. We should not take this as gospel truth despite the fact that the Red List is the best source of status in the wild for this cat. This is because little is known about the species. There must be a large element of guesswork in this assessment. This sheds some light on the role of the IUCN Red List. Its work can lure people into the belief that things are alright when they might not be.



Threats to Survival

Habitat loss due to for instance palm oil developments. This causes deforestation. This also causes prey depletion. Hunting by local people for bush meat trade and incidental trappings are factors. The bush meat trade depletes prey items. The cat's skin is desirable and may result in this cat being killed. It is protected from being hunted but is the law enforced?

Status in Captivity

Rare in captivity. There are only a few. Naturally, this creates problems of breeding and therefore survival in captivity. Generally, wild cats don't do well in captivity. African golden cats in captivity have nothing to do with conservation, it appears.

CITES

Listed under CITES Appendix I

See IUCN Red List and Cats for a list of all wild cats and their survival status in the wild.

African Golden Cat Ecology and Behavior

It should be said that not enough is known about this cat to describe its behavior with absolute certainty. The African golden cat shares habitat with the larger leopard. This dictates available prey to an extent.

Habitat

The African golden cat is a forest dwelling cat. This cat lives in a wide variety of forest habitats. It's short tail indicates that it is a ground dweller, however. This cat prefers forest habitat along rivers "including mangrove and alpine bamboo forests". It can be found in montane forest and at elevations of 3,000 meters above sea level.

Prey

The African golden cat hunts at dawn and dusk (crepuscular activity). In research studies its prey items normally include small mammals and birds.

Average weight of prey items: 1.4 kgs; of which birds represent 18% (plucked).

Examples of prey are as follows:

Ruwenzort Mountains (East Africa): groove tooth rats, swamp rats, hyraxes and duikers.

Ituri Forest, Congo: 6.7% of 60 samples showed dwarf or pygmy antelope. 25% of samples showed a diet of blue duiker and 1.7% of samples showed bay duiker. The duiker is a medium-sized antelope. Overall: small to medium sized rodents make up 70% of prey.

Dzanga-Ndoki National Park, Central African Republic: 23.5% of the diet was blue duiker from 17 samples.

Other prey of this wild cat are:

• monkeys
• birds
• livestock including goats, chickens and sheep
• guinea fowl
• francolins (a bird)

Social Organization

Solitary cat. Little is known. All cats keep home ranges and protect it with scent marking and scraps. Feces are left uncovered as a scent mark. Vocalizations are unknown but will include the usual hiss, meow, growl and purr.

Reproduction

Study on reproduction is from observing captive cats:

• Female came into estrus at aged 11 months.
• Gestation: 75 days.
• Two litters of two cubs observed.
• Newborns weigh 180-235 grams while at 40 days old they are able to chew chicken flesh.