Asiatic golden cat (2022)

Hunting – ecology

They are able to kill large prey as indicated by two stories of Asiatic golden cats being killed. One was shot over a calf it had killed and the other was speared while feeding on a buffalo calf.

It is believed that they are active mainly at night and that that their prey mainly consists of mammals up to the size of small deer, rodents, lizards and birds. And sometimes they will kill livestock such as sheep, goats and poultry. They kill small prey with a nape bite which is typical of wild cats of this size. They pluck birds larger than pigeons before eating them.

Disposition

It was described by Sterndale in his book of 1884, The Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon, as dealing with confinement very tranquilly and being of a “tractable disposition”. He said the cat was courageous when confronted with a large dog at its cage.

Sounds and marking

As to vocalisations, the Asiatic golden cat employs the following: hiss, spit, purr, growl, meow, gurgle and other sounds. And like other cats they scent mark, spray urine and rub their heads on objects. They also rake logs with claws to mark territory.

Reproduction

Remarkably, even today, 2022, there’s more to learn about this cat. In 2002 it was stated that “nothing is known about the reproductive behaviour of Asiatic golden cats in the wild”. That statement comes from my source namely Wild Cats of the World by the Sunquists. At that time there was even limited information from captive animals.

The oestrus cycle was reported as being 39 days long with oestrus lasting six days. The gestation period is believed to be 78 to 80 days. Litters typically are of one kitten although there are records of three kittens being born in the litter. The birthweight of kittens is approximately 220-250 g. Their coats are marked like their parents. They open their eyes at 6 to 12 days old. And their weight doubles by three weeks of age and triples by eight weeks of age.

Threats

The threats to their survival in the wild obviously centre around human activities including residential and commercial development, deforestation for wood and pulp plantations, livestock farming and ranching, dams and water management use. These all means habitat loss which is a major threat throughout its range. The deforestation rates in Southeast Asia are still the highest in the world. There are an increasing number of hydropower projects which potentially impact the species very negatively.

There’s been an increase in illegal hunting and poaching for consumption and for body parts such as pelts. It appears that the cat is poached and hunted in every country across its distribution. You will see pelts being traded along the Myanmar-Thailand border and in Sumatra. Poaching is particularly bad in Vietnam and China where the species is becoming extinct. And apparently the animal is snared across much of mainland Southeast Asia which constitutes a threat to its survivability.

In Bangladesh the animal is hunted by indigenous peoples in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. And there’s a usual retribution killings by farmers after loss of chickens.

The following was written in 2009. It is semi-redundant but I’ve decided to retain it. The information remains useful.

The current IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ Assessment is “Near Threatened” (as at 28th May 2009). But the IUCN people say that the Asiatic golden cat is bordering on “Vulnerable” (“close to qualifying..under Criterion C”) . I couldn’t readily see what Criterion C refers to but I will presume that it at least in part relates to the continuing population decline and projected decline in this cat’s population due to habitat loss as a result of rapid deforestation in Southeast Asia.

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ are not convincing in their assessment of the population numbers of this cat. Surveys are contradictory and they rely on similar numbers to the Clouded Leopard in respect of camera trap encounters against a background of a similar range etc. That would mean a figure of about 10,000 (see Clouded Leopard Population).