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| ASIAN
GOLDEN CAT - KEY FACTS |
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| Scientific Name: Catopuma temminckii |
| Size: Head and body 29.-41.5 inches
(73-105cm); tail 17-22 inches (43-56cm) |
| Weight: 26.5-35 pounds (12-16kg) |
| Distribution: Through Southeast Asia
from Nepal, east to Burma, China, Thailand, Malaysia, and Sumatra |
| Habitat: Deciduous forests, tropical
rainforests |
| Diet: Small deer, goats, sheep, hares,
birds, lizards |
| Reproduction: One or two young are
born after a 75 day gestation |
| Status: Vulnerable |
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Named after the Dutch naturalist Coenraad
Jacob Temminck, who had discovered the other species of golden cat in Africa,
the Asian Golden Cat is also known as Temminck's Cat.
This medium-sized cat has a uniform, pale reddish-brown coat with markings only
on the face and underside of the tail. On the face there is a pattern of white,
gray, and black stripes. On the underside of the |
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tail there is a white patch that probably acts as a flag when the kittens are
following their mother, and her tail is held erect. Apparently it occupies a wide
range of different kinds of habitat, from tropical rain forests to open country,
but prefers rocky woodland. In the hotter, wetter parts of its range, melanistic
or all-black individuals are not uncommon.
Distribution of the Asian Golden Cat is Tropical Asia, including: India, Nepal,
Tibet, Bangladesh, Burma, China, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia,
and Sumatra.
This is a ground-level hunter, taking small deer, sheep, goats, hares, larger
birds, and reptiles.
Little is known about its social life in the wild. Captive specimens have proved
to be unusually friendly and cooperative. One pet Asian Golden Cat was so affectionate
toward its owner, the famous naturalist E.P. Gee, that, even when nearly adult,
it used to suck his earlobes while "milk-treading" with its paws on
his lap. In his book The Wild Life of India he describes the remarkably
"domesticated" behavior of his animal: "He was free to come and
go as he pleased during the day time, and if I was not available for him to play
with he would disappear for hours on end into the forest down the hillside. But
he invariably came back when called. A cat of two worlds, docile and affectionate
with me but potentially savage in the forest and nearby villages." |
| ASIAN
GOLDEN CAT PHOTOS |
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