In southeast Asia, there was an unusual type of wild feline called the flat-headed cat. It was considered endangered since 2008 and, until recently, “possibly extinct.” However, the flat-headed cat’s continued existence has been confirmed using remote camera trap images in Southern Thailand. Before that, none had been seen for 3 decades.
These remote cameras
saw the flat-headed cat 13 times in 2024 and 16 times in 2025. This was the
first they’d been seen since 1995 and comprised the largest survey of the
species ever done. At one point, a female flat-headed cat was recorded with her
cub, so there is reproduction happening in the area.
A flat-headed cat (Prionailurus
planiceps) is a small wild cat with short reddish-brown fur. Its head is
elongated, and its ears rounded. Its slender body is 16-20 inches long with a
tail of 5-6 inches in length. It weighs 3.3 to 5.5 lb. The flat-headed cat has
a distinctive flattened forehead. The are the smallest wild cats in Southeast
Asia and weigh less than half as much as a typical domestic cat. They may be
closely related to leopard cats and fishing cats.
First described in 1827
based on a zoological specimen collected in Sumatra, it is also native to the
Thai-Malay Peninsula and Borneo. It inhabits wetlands like mixed freshwater
swamp forests, peat swamp forests, and lowland freshwater swamps near rivers
and coasts. It typically preys on fish, frogs, and crustaceans.
Besides the cat’s small
size, limited numbers, and nocturnal behavior, the species has an elusive
nature that makes it difficult to observe. Additionally, litters normally only
produce one cub.
Although small, the cat’s
webbed toes help it be the apex predator in peat and wetland swamp ecosystems.
They have been threatened by habitat loss from land conversion, fishing,
agricultural encroachment, hunting, pollution of waterways, and diseases spread
from domestic animals. To help combat this, local Muslim communities help
conserve the species by not hunting wildlife, depending on fishing, and
collecting forest products.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat-headed_cat
