Habitat & Ecology
This is Africa’s only forest dependent species of wildcat. The cat’s primary habitat is moist equatorial forest and occasionally savanna on the edge of the forest. Relatively little is known about this wildcat. This might be the least understood of all wild cats. In one survey of African golden cat scats (feces) in the Ituri forest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo prey was made up of 70% rodents. As the habitat of this cat is shared with that of the leopard the diets overlap but this cat’s diet is more dependent on birds and rodents. The prey generally is assessed as follows (in order of preference):
- Rodents (70%) including swamp rats – see picture below
- Squirrels (62%)
- Medium sized antelopes (33%)
- Small antelope (25%)
- Birds (these are plucked before being eaten), small monkeys, the tree hyrax,
- Domestic livestock
- Bats (once seen being hunted)
Development
| Time frame | Event (observed in captivity1 |
| New born kittens | Weigh 180-235 grams |
| Day 6 | Eyes open |
| Day 10 | Standing (captive observation of 1 female) |
| Day 16 | Climbed into nest box |
| Day 19 | Jumping attempt onto tree |
| Day 40 | Chewing meat |
| Twelve weeks | Female weighed 2.5 kg and male 2.9 kg |
| 11months | Female came into estrus (in heat) and showed signs of being sexually mature |
| 18months | Male became father of first litter |
| 12 years | Longest life of African golden cat in captivity recorded as at 2002 |
