Unceremoniously named for its distinctively shaped skull, the flat-headed cat is up for consideration as one of the world’s most endangered and elusive felines. Weighing in at less than the size of a domestic cat, this diminutive species roams semiaquatic and wetland habitat in Sumatra, Borneo, the Malay Peninsula and southern Thailand. To navigate their muddy wet habitat, these cats are equipped with claws that don’t fully retract; partially webbed paws; wide, close-set eyes suited to a nocturnal lifestyle; and short, stubby tails. On their menu is a wide array of fish, amphibians, rodents and crustaceans. Like many felids, flat-headed cats (Prionailurus planiceps) are at risk of extinction and are categorized as endangered on the IUCN Red List, as swaths of their habitat are lost to agricultural crops including oil palm. A 2015 study assessed the flat-headed cat as a feline of highest conservation priority, alongside the tiger (Panthera tigris), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), leopard (Panthera pardus) and puma (Puma concolor). An earlier study indicated that only around 10-20% of the species’ suitable habitat falls within protected areas, while as much as 70% of its habitat has possibly become unsuitable. Compounding these threats is the fact that, like with so many other wild felids, the flat-headed cat is devilishly difficult to study, resulting in large knowledge gaps about its basic ecology, population numbers and precise distribution. As recently as 2019, only around 40 camera trap records existed, and it’s not even clear if the species still persists in southern Thailand, the…This article was originally published on Mongabay
The post Mysterious, at risk, understudied flat-headed cat lacks conservation focus first appeared on EnviroLink Network.