Flat-Headed Cat Thought Extinct

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://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/flat-headed-cat-once-seen-as-possibly-extinct-seen-for-first-time-in-years/ar-AA1T7MNS?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=69504ba802754e8997779ac7d601a875&ei=96

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat-headed_cat