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| AFRICAN
GOLDEN CAT - KEY FACTS |
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| Scientific Name: Profelis aurata |
| Size: Head and body 25.5-35.5 inches
(65-90cm); tail 8-13.5 inches (20-35cm) |
| Weight: 11-26.5 pounds (5-12kg) |
| Distribution: Tropical West Africa
and Central Africa |
| Habitat: Moist forests, dense vegetation |
| Diet: rodents, hyrax, monkeys, duikers,
birds, small antelope, domestic animals |
| Reproduction: Little is known about
its breeding habits |
| Status: Vulnerable |
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The African Golden Cat is about twice
the size of a large domestic cat. It is an elusive, solitary, West African species
about which little is known at present. The African Golden Cat has a rounded face,
small ears, and a short tail. It has one of the most variable coat colorings of
any member of the cat family. Its fur can vary from orange to gray, and the various
color phases can be either plain and unspotted, partially spotted, or completely
covered with spots. Melanistic or all-black individuals have been recorded.
This is the rain forest cat of West Africa, adapted to the hot humid |
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forests
that other cats tend to avoid. Locally known as the "leopard's brother"
because the two cats are often found in the same area, their preferred habitat
is moist forest, but they also live in dense secondary vegetation and along watercourses
that extend into drier, more open countryside. They can live in mountainous areas,
and have been found in alpine moorland.
The golden cat is found throughout West Africa and Central Africa. It may be locally
common in some parts of Uganda and the Tai and Azagny national parks of the Ivory
Coast.
There are no records of a den ever being found in the wild and since there are
only a handful of them in zoos, African Golden Cats are rarely bred in captivity.
They give birth to one or two young which develop rapidly. Male kittens grow faster
than females.
They are stealthy, solitary hunters, operating at dawn and at dusk, stalking their
prey both on the ground and in the trees. Their main diet consists of monkeys,
tree-hyraxes, birds, and, down on the ground, rodents, duikers, and small antelopes.
This species is so elusive that little is known about its social behavior. |
| AFRICAN
GOLDEN CAT PHOTOS |
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