A rare camera trap video of an African golden cat hunting and attacking a small monkey on the ground in a Ugandan park.
This is a rare bit of vide footage of the highly elusive African golden cat, a small-medium sized wild cat species, hunting red colobus monkeys in Kibale National Park, Uganda. The cat is also harassed by monkeys in the Kalinzu Forest Reserve, Uganda in the second part of the video. This is the first filming of this wild cat species in Uganda.
The video is from a camera trap set up by by Samuel Angedakin, of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology’s Pan African Programme. Camera traps are video and still cameras which are activated when an animal moves in front of it. The video is to be celebrated but I do have a concern because the fact that the cat was filmed indicates it may be easier to film this cat in 2015 and that may be due to a shrinking primary habitat (the equatorial forest). In addition knowing where these cats are makes them more vulnerable to poachers. It is better if they are left alone and remain elusive.
The prey of the African golden cat, which is not always ‘golden’ is 70% rodents, also squirrels, medium sized antelopes, small antelopes and small monkeys, birds and tree hyrax. This cat also preys on bats and livestock.
Monkey are known to be a ‘prey item’ of this cat but there are not the preferred prey. As the monkey harasses the African golden cat this may be a reason why the cat sometimes steers clear of them.
