Search

The African golden cat, Caracal aurata, ranges from west through central to east Africa and is categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Coenraad J. Temminck (1778–1858) described Felis aurata (African golden cat) and other new felid species in the fourth of seven monographs collected in the first volume of his Monographies de mammalogie, which was dated 1827 on the title-page. For nearly two centuries, Temminck's description of Felis aurata has therefore been cited as published in 1827. However, this is in error because the different monographs were published as they were completed and later compiled into volumes. The actual date of issue for the fourth monograph was 1825, so that the correct current citation for the African golden cat should be Caracal aurata (Temminck, 1825). This revised citation date is also applicable to the Iberian lynx, Lynx pardinus (Temminck, 1825), which is categorized as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the first population found in Tanzania of the Vulnerable African golden cat Caracal aurata, extending its documented range c. 200 km to the south and south-east. This is one of the least-known and truly forest-dependent felines in Africa, ranging across the Guinea–Congolian forest block. We recorded the new population in Minziro Nature Forest Reserve, north-west Tanzania, during a 3-month survey in 2018. We deployed 70 camera traps on a regular grid and obtained 33 detection events of the golden cat at 26% of sites, with a minimum of 10 individuals across 257 km2. We estimated occupancy and detection probability and modelled these in relation to the distance of sampling sites to the forest edge, which coincides with both the Reserve boundary and proximity to human settlements surrounding the Reserve. Mean estimated occupancy was 0.41 ± SE 0.12 (mean detectability = 0.13 ± SE 0.05), with occupancy increasing significantly with distance from the forest edge. Detectability did not vary significantly with distance from the forest edge, but was higher for camera models that had a shorter trigger time. Our findings add to the scant data available for this species. It appears threatened by human activity, which we recorded both outside and within the Reserve, and the presence of the species indicates Minziro Forest is an important site for its conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa's equatorial forests are threatened by widespread deforestation and bushmeat hunting, with both threats spreading into formerly remote areas due to rapid human population growth and large-scale expansions of commercial resource extraction such as logging and mining, as well as forest clearing for agriculture. Many globally threatened species are endemic to these forests, but the potential effects of these threats are not well understood. Using the case of the forest-dependent African golden cat, we assess the potential effects of disturbance including logging and hunting on population density. We applied spatially-explicit capture-recapture models to camera trap data to estimate density across a human land-use gradient at five sites in central Gabon. We found density was highest at a pristine, undisturbed site (16.23 [± 5.84 SE] individuals per 100 km 2 ) and lowest at a village site with moderate levels of mostly subsistence bushmeat hunting (3.8 [± 2.23 SE] individuals per 100 km 2 ). Logging concessions can support important densities of the species (10.18 [± 3.54 SE] and 12.84 [± 4.25 SE] individuals per 100 km 2 ), with the higher estimate of the two for the concession certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) versus the non-certified concession. While protected intact forests are the main strongholds for golden cats, well-managed logging concessions may also play an important role in the conservation of golden cats and other threatened species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The African golden cat C aracal aurata is endemic to tropical Africa. It is one of the world's least-studied felids and is considered rare in most of its geographic range. The status of the African golden cat in the wild has never been rigorously assessed, but the species is increasingly threatened by habitat degradation, loss and fragmentation, and by unsustainable hunting., We describe the African golden cat and review its taxonomy, distribution, ecology, behaviour, threats and conservation status. The information presented here is based on the literature and on new data from the first two intensive field studies on the species (underway in Gabon and Uganda)., The golden cat is phenotypically variable. Within the two main colour morphs, golden/reddish-brown and grey, there is wide variation and intergradation. Both of these morphs occur throughout the species' range. Melanistic and chocolate-brown morphs also occur but are uncommon., Recent genetic analysis indicates that the golden cat is closely related to the caracal C aracal caracal, and it has, therefore, been changed from the genus P rofelis to C aracal., The golden cat is predominantly terrestrial and cathemeral. Its diet consists mainly of rodents and small ungulates., Field studies in Gabon and Uganda have established that golden cats can be locally common. They are prone to capture by wire snares, however, and are absent in forests hunted at commercial scales., Species-focused camera trap surveys are effective for collecting distribution, abundance, population structure, ecological and behavioural data on golden cats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]