Asian Golden Cat
 Asian golden cats have long been known in Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand as ‘fire cats’. Legend says that carrying one hair will
give the bearer protection from tigers, or burning the pelt will drive tigers away from the village.Sturdily built with fairly long legs, the Asian golden cat is a medium size cat, with fox-red to gold-brown, black, brown or grey fur. Melanistic examples are not uncommon. There is a variation, thus far reported only from China, of ocelot-like rosettes and spots, which looks so unlike the plain form that some taxonomists have considered it a separate species. The moderate length, dense coat is generally unmarked, but those cats in the more northerly regions often exhibit spots and stripes that closely resemble the markings of the leopard cat Prionailurus benagalensis. The most conspicuous features of this cat are the white lines bordered with black running across the cheeks, and from the inner corners of the eyes up to the crown. As with most cats, the underside and inner legs are white, and there is a white patch on the underside of the last part of the long tail, which is roughly 1/2 to 1/3 of the total body length. The backs of the short, rounded ears are black, with a whitish central area, and the eyes are usually greyish green or amber. The Asian species appears to be closely related to the African golden cat Profelis aurata although the two are separated by more than 6,400 kilometers. It is thought that about one million years ago forests covered the area from Senegal to China, a region now broken by vast deserts. Over the years, the deserts probably isolated the two golden cat populations. The Asian golden cat is a nocturnal forest dweller, preferring deciduous and tropical rainforest, and occasionally more open areas with rocky tracts. In parts of China they are known as the ‘rock cat’. They are found from Nepal and northeast India through southeast Asia, China, Thailand, Malaysia and Sumatra. Unlike the African cat however, the Asian species is considered to be more abundant throughout their range.  Although they can climb well, they spend most of their time on the ground, carrying their long tail curled up at the tip. They
are reported by tribesmen in Thailand to have their young in the hollow of a tree. Opportunistic hunters, they prey on a wide variety of
rodents, birds, reptiles, young hares, muntjacs and water buffalo calves. They have also been known to prey on poultry, sheep and goats, and
it is for this reason that the cats are actively hunted by the villagers.After a gestation of 75 - 80 days, one to three kittens are born, weighing approximately 250 grams. Their eyes open at around nine days, and they are weaned at six months. Kittens have longer, thicker coats than the adults, but show no pattern. They are slightly darker than the adults. This attractive Asian carnivore has in the past been fairly common in European zoos, although their reproductive rate was not particularly good. Worldwide, there are less than a dozen in zoos, with only four or five females in breeding situations. There is a high incidence of females being killed by their mates, even in well established pairs. Maximum longevity has been reported at 20 years. The Asiatic golden cat is widely reported as uncommon and threatened by deforestation. Major threats also include hunting for their pelt and bones. Their meat is considered a delicacy and the whole animal is often roasted on a spit. The bones are then sometimes ground into a powder to be given to children for fevers. Livestock predation, which usually leads to persecution, has also been reported. Although they are reported to be decreasing in India and Indonesia, no factual information is known of their status in the wild. Hunting is allowed in Laos, Bhutan and Brunei. CITES has placed them on Appendix I. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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