Asiatic Golden Cat - Catopuma temmincki

Weight: 14-25 pounds
Head/Body: 31-35 inches
Tail: 19-20 inches
Subspecies: 3 

The Asiatic Golden Cat or Temminck's Golden Cat, can be found scattered all over Southeast Asia, particularly in deciduous forests, rain forests, and open terrain with rocky areas.

A typical Asian Golden Cat weighs about 8 to 15 kg. Its fur is coarse and thick, and the markings on their fur are not uniform. Different from one location to the next, the fur's colors can be bright brown, red or gray-brown. Their tail’s underside is principally white, and experts think that these could be used for signaling purposes.

Mating/breeding of the Asian Golden Cats occurs in hollow trees, hollows in the ground or inside rocky crevices. An Asian Golden Cat's gestation lasts up to around 95 days, and a litter of 1 to 2 kittens is typical. The newborn’s weight will double after three weeks and triple after six weeks. The male helps in raising the newborns.

They are most active during the night, and hunt hares, deer, lizards, birds and other kinds of smaller animals.

The total population of this species in the wild is unknown, but it is thought to be uncommon. It has rarely been seen in the wild, although during the 1990's a few camera trap photos were collected, and two golden cats were radio-collared in Thailand's Phu Khieu National Park (source IUCN).

Their main threat is the loss of their natural habitat through deforestation. They are also hunted for their pelts, and the bones are used in certain medicinal mixes. Local Thai people strongly believe that when a tiger is near, burning the fur of this cat will help. They believe it will cause the tiger to flee.

The Asiatic golden cat, golden cat, or temminck's cat is listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and is considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.