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African Golden Cat (Caracal aurata)
Fur colour varies from chestnut through fawn to silver and slate grey. The cheeks, chin, and underparts are whitish, and the belly and inner sides of the limbs can have variable amounts of dark spotting.Their head is relatively small with a fairly large muzzle, irises of green to golden brown, and ears that are rounded with black backsides. The tail is usually no more than 50% of the head and body length, and has a dark line on the upper side, sometimes with distinct rings. Melanistic, or black, individuals are known to occur.
Behaviour They have been seen resting in the lower branches during the day and are thought to spend most of their days in the trees. However, the short tail is difficult to explain in this regard since most arboreal, or tree-dwelling, cats have long tails they use as a counterbalance when climbing. Like other members of the cat family, African golden cats are most active at night, or during dawn or dusk. Two studies of scats (feces) from the Ituri forest of the Congo and the Dzanga-Sangha forest of the Central African republic found similar results. Rodents and squirrels were the main prey item (70% and 62% respectively), followed by small and medium-size duikers (antelopes) (25% and 33% respectively). Primates made up 5% of the prey items in both studies, and there have been several observations by primate researchers of African golden cats hunting small monkeys. In southern Sudan a female with two kittens was observed hunting bats as they swooped for insects feeding on fallen mangoes. In captivity, these cats are known to be active and able climbers. Unlike other ground dwelling species, golden cats do not bury their feces. So little is known of these cats, it is impossible to say for certain if they are arboreal, live on the ground, or when their major activity periods are. Sharing much of their range with the leopard Panthera pardus, the golden cat is known locally as the 'leopard's brother.' African golden cats are known prey of leopards, and on a small scale avoid areas where leopard are common. On a larger scale, in areas where leopards have been extirpated, African golden cats seem to be more locally abundant ReproductionNo dens with kittens have been described from the wild and very few have been raised in captivity. A litter of one to three, usually one or two, kittens is born in a hollow tree den, rocky crevice, or thick vegetation after about 78 days. Kittens weigh 180 - 235 grams at birth and sometimes have small ear tufts. They grow fairly rapidly with their eyes opening in six days, and are weaned between three and four months, at which time they weigh 2.5 - 3 kg. African golden cats reach sexual maturity between 22 - 24 months of age, and have lived up to 12 years in captivity. Habitat African golden cats are usually found in high rainforests, but may occasionally inhabit drier woodlands as long as they are near water. They are also common in mountainous areas up to 3,600 metres, where they live in alpine moorland, subalpine and bamboo forests. Golden cats apparently adapt well to logged areas, as destruction of the canopy promotes dense secondary undergrowth. They are attracted to these edge areas of open spaces near trees which generally contain high numbers of rodents. However, primary growth rainforest with minimal human disturbance is their preferred habitat. Loss of habitat is an obvious threat to this species. Deforestation has destroyed suitable habitat and driven declines of prey species in large areas of the African golden cat range, particularly in West and East Africa. An additional threat stems from the bush meat trade, which figures largely in the region’s economy, and is depleting populations of the prey base of the African golden cat. There appears to be little direct hunting of golden cats, but they are trapped incidentally in wire snares. The moist forests of west Africa have been heavily damaged by logging, which opens up new roads through the forest, allowing poachers easier access. Skins are sometimes found for sale in markets where they are often sold alongside medicinal herbs and fetishes. Skins may be used during circumcision rites, to wrap valuable objects, or as good luck charms for hunting success. Skins are also frequently encountered in museums, indicating the species may not be as rare as field records suggest, and possibly the threat of significant trade. It seems reasonable to believe that the species could have declined on the order of 20% over the course of the last 15 years across its range, due mainly to the impact of habitat loss, hunting and loss of prey base, particularly in West Africa and probably in Democratic Republic of Congo. Although there are no reliable density estimates, the total population almost certainly exceeds 10,000 mature individuals. (IUCN Cats Red List Workshop 2007). In parts of central and west Africa, African golden cats rank highly in local religious beliefs. Cameroon pygmy tribesmen value their tail as a talisman to protect them when they are hunting forest elephants. Their skin is traditionally incorporated into tribal robes. When asked about the cat by researchers, natives are reluctant to talk about it or even to acknowledge that they exist. It is partly due to these beliefs, and partly due to the near impossibility of seeing these cats before being seen by them, that these cats remain virtually unknown. The eradication of the leopard from Bwindi National Park in Uganda has led to the African golden cat being the dominant carnivore in the area. Hunting is prohibited in only 12 of 26 range countries. As their present status is unknown, they are listed on Appendix II of CITES. Notes: This species has traditionally either been included in the genus Felis (Kral and Zima 1980) or Profelis (Pocock 1917, Wozencraft 2005). More recent molecular data unequivocally reveal that the Caracal Caracal caracal and the Serval Leptailurus serval are closely allied with the African Golden Cat. Updated June 2009 www.iucnredlist.org
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