Flat-headed cat not seen in Thailand for almost 30 years is rediscovered
Conservationists are celebrating the rediscovery of flat-headed cats in Thailand after camera traps recorded the endangered feline for the first time in almost 30 years.
Camera trap photos confirmed that flat-headed cats are still living in Thailand. (Image credit: DNP/Panthera Thailand)Researchers have photographed a rare cat in Thailand that hasn't been seen in the country for almost 30 years — and it's adorable.
Flat-headed cats (Prionailurus planiceps), named after their flattened foreheads, live in fragmented pockets across Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia, but they were feared extinct in Thailand.
"For decades, the flat-headed cat has been classified as 'likely extinct,' but after years of sustained protection, strong scientific partnerships, and community stewardship, we can now celebrate its return to Thailand this National Wildlife Day," Suchart Chomklin, Thailand's minister of Natural Resources and Environment, said in a statement.
Flat-headed cats have webbed feet to traverse wetland habitats, such as waterlogged peat-swamp forest, where the species is thought to primarily hunt fish. However, researchers know very little about their lives. The enigmatic cat is the smallest in Southeast Asia, weighing around 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms) — less than a domestic cat — and is scarcely seen by humans.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) last assessment of the species, carried out in 2014, concluded that flat-headed cats were endangered. They are primarily threatened by the loss and degradation of their wetlands and lowland forests, as well as other human pressures like over-fishing and hunting.
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