Catopuma temminckii

10.

Asian Golden Cat

Catopuma temminckii

French: Chat de Temminck / German: Asiatische Goldkatze / Spanish: Gato dorado asiatico

Other common names: Temminck’s Cat

Taxonomy. Felis temminckii Vigors & Horsfield, 1827,

Sumatra, Indonesia.

Has been sometimes considered to include C. badia as a subspecies, but genetic analysis shows that the two are better considered separate species. Three subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

C. t. temminckii Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 — Sub-Himalayan region from Nepal, India and Bhutan S to Malaysia and Sumatra.

C. t. dominicanorum Sclater, 1898 — S China.

C. t. tnistis Milne-Edwards, 1872 — highlands of SW China.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 66-2—-105 cm, tail 42.5-57. 5 cm. Adult males are heavier (12-15. 7 kg) than adult females (8: 5 kg). Coat polymorphic, varying from a uniform golden brown to dark brown, black, pale cinnamon, bright red, or gray. Golden cats from some parts of China show another variation: the pelt may be marked with dark spots and stripes. The backs of the short, rounded ears are black with a faint central gray area. The underside of the terminal one-third to one-half of the tail has a whitish stripe. The face is marked with a white line extending downward for a short distance from the corner of each eye and the white lines extending outward from the nose look like a moustache.

Habitat. Found in tropical lowland rainforest and sub-tropical moist evergreen and dry deciduousforests to elevations of 3000 m in the Himalayas. Occasionally reported from more open, rocky areas and grasslands.

Food and Feeding. In Peninsular Malaysia, diet included Dusky Leaf Monkey (Trachypithecus obscurus), mouse deer, murids, birds, and lizards. Has also been recorded killing sheep, goats, and a buffalo calf. Anecdotal information suggests hunts primarily on the ground. However, can also climb well.

Activity patterns. Largely nocturnal (69% of photos taken at night), but daytime activity not uncommon.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Nothing known.

Breeding. Limited information, only from captive animals. One estrous cycle lasted 39 days, with estrus lasting six days. Gestation period 78-80 days. Litter size typically one, range from 1-3. Sexual maturity about two years of age.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix I. Classified as Near Threatened on The IUCN Red List. Fully protected over most of its range, hunting and trade prohibited in most range states. Uncommon and threatened by deforestation acrossits range. The speciesis also illegally hunted for its pelt and bones. The largest skin harvest has come from China.

Bibliography. Acharjyo & Mishra (1980), Guggisberg (1975), Kawanishi & Sunquist (2008), Lekagul & McNeely (1991), Louwman & Van Oyen (1968), Mellen (1993), Nowell & Jackson (1996), Pocock (1939), Sunquist & Sunquist (2002).