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A flat-headed cat in southern Thailand\u2019s Princess Sirindhorn Wildlife Sanctuary \u2013 credit, Thailand\u2019s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation<\/p>\n A flat-headed cat in southern Thailand\u2019s Princess Sirindhorn Wildlife Sanctuary \u2013 credit, Thailand\u2019s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation<\/p>\n
An endangered small wild cat native to Thailand\u2019s wetlands has been sighted for the first time in 30 years, the country\u2019s wildlife authorities have said.<\/p>\n
The flat-headed cat has long been feared extinct in the tropical kingdom, where it inhabits peatlands, mangrove forests, and marshes that are difficult to access.<\/p>\n
The last confirmed sighting was in 1995. Now 30 years later, the flat-headed cat has surfaced following a camera trap survey in\u00a0southern Thailand\u2019s Princess Sirindhorn Wildlife Sanctuary.<\/p>\n
Here, night-vision cameras documented 29 sightings of the animal, which included a female with her kitten. The news was released by the country\u2019s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, along with the world\u2019s premier wild cat conservation organization, Panthera.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rediscovery is exciting, yet concerning at the same time,\u201d veterinarian and researcher Kaset Sutasha of Kasetsart University told the South China Morning Post<\/a>. \u201cWhat comes after this is more important\u2014how to enable them to live alongside us sustainably, without being threatened.\u201d<\/p>\n The fear of Sutasha and others is that the habitat of the animal has become too fragmented to provide the hunting range and genetic diversity it needs to thrive. This nocturnal hunter preys on swamp animals, including frogs, fish, and crustaceans. They will also prey on rats, and a domestic chicken if they can get their paws on them.<\/p>\n The animal is well adapted to its aquatic surroundings, and is capable of catching fish by submerging its whole head in water to strike.<\/p>\n Panthera\u2019s small wild cat conservation program had been a back-burner project until 2021, when GNN reported exclusively<\/a> that the former chairman of a billion-dollar veterinary diagnostics company, Jon Ayers, had taken a position on the conservation NGO\u2019s board, inspired by a personal fascination with small wild cats.<\/p>\n