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The African golden cat (Caracal aurata) is a wild cat endemic to the rainforests of West and Central Africa. It is threatened due to deforestation and bushmeat hunting and listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.<ref name=iucn /> It is a close relative of both the caracal and the serval.<ref name=Johnson_al2006>Template:Cite journal</ref> Previously, it was placed in the genus Profelis.<ref name=msw3>Template:MSW3 Wozencraft</ref> Its body size ranges from Template:Convert with a Template:Convert long tail.<ref name=WCoW>Template:Cite book</ref>
CharacteristicsEdit
The African golden cat has a fur colour ranging from chestnut or reddish-brown, greyish brown to dark slaty. Some are spotted, with the spots ranging from faded tan to black in colour. In others the spotting pattern is limited to the belly and inner legs. Its undersides and areas around the eyes, cheeks, chin, and throat are lighter in colour to almost white. Its tail is darker on the top and either heavily banded, lightly banded or plain, ending in a black tip. Cats in the western parts of its range tend to have heavier spotting than those in the eastern region. Two color morphs, a red and a grey phase, were once thought to indicate separate species, rather than colour variations of the same species.<ref name=Guggisberg>Template:Cite book</ref> Grey skins have hairs that are not pigmented in their middle zones, whereas hair of red skins is pigmented intensively red. Hair of melanistic skins is entirely black.<ref name=VanMensch1969/>
Skins of African golden cats can be identified by the presence of a distinctive whorled ridge of fur in front of the shoulders, where the hairs change direction. It is about twice the size of a domestic cat. Its rounded head is very small in relation to its body size. It is a heavily built cat, with stocky, long legs, a relatively short tail, and large paws. Body length usually varies within the range of Template:Cvt. Tail length ranges from Template:Cvt, and shoulder height is about Template:Cvt. The cat weighs around Template:Cvt, with males being larger than females.<ref name=WCoW/>
Overall, the African golden cat resembles the caracal, but has shorter untufted ears, a longer tail, and a shorter, more rounded face. It has small, rounded ears. Its eye colour ranges from pale blue to brown.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
TaxonomyEdit
Felis aurata was the scientific name used by Coenraad Jacob Temminck who described a reddish-brown coloured cat skin in 1827 that he had bought from a merchant in London.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Temminck also described a grey coloured skin of a cat with chocolate brown spots that had lived in the menagerie in London. He named it Felis celidogaster.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Felis neglecta proposed by John Edward Gray in 1838 was a brownish grey cat skin from Sierra Leone.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Felis rutilus proposed by George Robert Waterhouse in 1842 was a reddish cat skin from Sierra Leone.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Felis chrysothrix cottoni proposed by Richard Lydekker in 1906 was a dark grey cat skin from the Ituri Rainforest.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> A black cat skin from eastern Congo was proposed as Felis maka in 1942.<ref name=VanMensch1969>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In 1858, Nikolai Severtzov proposed the generic names Profelis with F. celidogaster as type species, and Chrysailurus with F. neglecta as type species.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In 1917, Reginald Innes Pocock subordinated both the African golden cat and the Asian golden cat to Profelis.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> This classification was followed by several subsequent authors.<ref name=Allen>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=VanMensch1969/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=msw3/>
Phylogenetic analysis of cat samples showed that the African golden cat is closely related with the caracal (Caracal caracal). These two species, together with the serval (Leptailurus serval), form the Caracal lineage, one of the eight lineages of Felidae. This lineage evolved nearly 8.5 million years ago.<ref name=johnson>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=Johnson_al2006/> Because of this close relationship, the African golden cat has been placed into the genus Caracal.<ref name="werdelin">Template:Cite book</ref>
Two African golden cat subspecies are recognised as valid since 2017:<ref name=catsg>Template:Cite journal</ref>
- C. a. aurata (Temminck, 1827) − east of the Congo River
- C. a. celidogaster (Temminck, 1827) − west of the Cross River
PhylogenyEdit
The following cladogram shows the phylogenetic relationships of the African golden cat:<ref name=Johnson_al2006/><ref name=werdelin/> Template:Clade
Distribution and habitatEdit
The African golden cat is distributed from Senegal to the Central African Republic, Kenya and as far south as northern Angola. It inhabits tropical forests from sea level to an elevation of Template:Cvt. It prefers dense, moist forest with heavy undergrowth close to rivers but lives also in cloud forest, bamboo forests, and high moorland habitats.<ref name=WCoW/>
In Guinea's National Park of Upper Niger, it was recorded during surveys conducted in 1996 to 1997.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In Uganda's Kibale National Park, an African golden cat was recorded in an Uvariopsis forest patch in 2008.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In Gabon's Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, it was recorded in forested areas during surveys in 2012.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> African Golden cats were recorded in Tanzania's Minziro Forest Reserve in 2018 for the first time.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Ecology and behaviourEdit
Due to its extremely reclusive habits, little is known about the behaviour of African golden cats. They are solitary animals, and are normally crepuscular or nocturnal, although they have also been observed hunting during the day, depending on the availability of local prey.<ref name=WCoW/>
African golden cats are able to climb, but hunt primarily on the ground. They mainly feed on tree hyrax, rodents, but also hunt birds, small monkeys, duikers, young of giant forest hog, and small antelope. They have also been known to take domestic poultry and livestock.<ref name=WCoW/><ref name=Guggisberg/>
ReproductionEdit
Knowledge of the African golden cat's reproductive habits is based on captive individuals. The female gives birth to one or two kittens after a gestation period of around 75 days. The kittens weigh Template:Cvt. Their eyes open within a week of birth, and they are weaned at 6–8 weeks. They grow and develop rapidly in comparison with other small cat species. One individual was reported to be scaling a 40-cm wall within 16 days of birth, reflecting a high degree of physical agility from an early age. Females reach sexual maturity at 11 months of age, and males at around 18 months. In captivity, they live up to 12 years. Their lifespan in the wild is unknown.<ref name=WCoW/>
ThreatsEdit
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The African golden cat is threatened by extensive deforestation of tropical rainforests, their conversion to oil palm plantations coupled with mining activities and road building, thus destroying its essential habitat. It is also threatened by bushmeat hunting, particularly in the Congo Basin.<ref name=iucn /> A dead African golden cat was offered as bushmeat in Angola's Uíge Province in May 2018.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
ConservationEdit
The African golden cat is listed in CITES Appendix II.<ref name=iucn /> Hunting African golden cats is prohibited in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone. In Gabon, Liberia and Togo, hunting regulations are in place.<ref>Nowell, K. and Jackson, P. (1996). Wild Cats: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group, Gland, Switzerland.</ref>