Bay Cats, the world's rarest cat species were caught on camera at in Borneo forest by scientists from Imperial College London.
Practically nothing is known about the Bay Cat, expect for its physical appearance comprising of red fur and a long distinctive tail with a black and white tip. However, scientists fear that the rare cat faces the threat of extinction because of loss of habitat in Borneo in the Malaysian province of Sabah. Various studies have been conducted to observe animals living in this area to determine the affects of logging on their habitat.
The Bay Cat was caught last on camera in the wild in 2003. Recently, scientists from Imperial College London were able to capture some spectacular footage of the rare species using cameras perched in a previously un-surveyed rainforest in Borneo.
"We were completely surprised to see so many bay cats at these sites in Borneo where natural forests have been so heavily logged for the timber trade," Dr Robert Ewers from the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London said. "Conservationists used to assume that relatively few wild animals can live in logged forest, but we now know this land can be home for many endangered species. Our study today shows solid evidence that even top carnivores, such as these magnificent bay cats, can survive in commercially logged forests."
An adult Bay cat weighs approximately 4 kgs and its body is around 60 cms, excluding its long tail. The tail has a white streak on its upper side and a small black tip. However, the black tip is not easily visible since the animal always has its tail curled upwards at the end.
The Bay cat is one of the five cat species native to Borneo including the Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi), leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis), flat-headed cat (Prionailurus planiceps) and marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata). All these species except the leopard cat feature in the IUCN Red List of threatened species.
