African golden cat
caracal aurata latin

The head of an African golden cat has light spots around the eyes.

African golden cats are about twice the size of a domestic cat.

The African golden cat is able to climb, but hunts primarily on the ground.

Some experts say that the African golden cat stays in virgin forest.

Due to its extremely reclusive habits, little is known about the behavior of African golden cats.

Knowledge of the African golden cat's reproductive habits is based on captive specimens.

There are two subspecies of African golden cat:

A variety of cats including leopards and the rare African Golden Cat.

Normally, the habitat of the African golden cat is at the tropical rainforests found along the equator in Africa.

An African golden cat (Profelis aurata) is a medium-sized cat.

The African golden cat has variable fur color, typically ranging from cinnamon or reddish-brown to grey, although melanistic forms also exist.

DNA studies have shown that the serval is closely related to the African golden cat and the caracal.

They share a more recent common ancestor with servals, caracals, and African golden cats than with any other existing cat genus.

Overall, the African golden cat resembles the caracal, but has shorter un-tufted ears, a longer tail and a shorter, more rounded face.

The African golden cat is superficially similar to the Asian golden cat, However, genetic analysis has determined that they are not closely related.

There occur many carnivores, include the side-striped jackal, African golden cat and African civet [1].

Profelis aurata African Golden Cat (VU)

The African golden cat (Profelis aurata) is a medium-sized wild cat distributed over the rainforests of West and Central Africa.

In the 1960s, studies were done that showed that various colors of the African golden cat (red, brown, silver) were found in equal numbers in most areas of their habitats.

Lineage 1B: Leptailurus (Serval), Caracal, Profelis (African Golden Cat)

The Asian golden cat was named in honor of the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck, who first described the African golden cat in 1827.

The lesser forest in the park is inhabited by elephants, gorillas, and various small carnivores, porcupines, squirrels, african golden cats, leopards, giant pangolins, duikers and red river hog.

The caracal has been classified variously with Lynx and Felis in the past, but molecular evidence supports a monophyletic genus that is closely allied with the African golden cat and serval.

Bernard Heuvelmans speculated Mngwa to be an abnormally colored specimen of a known species, or that it may even be a larger subspecies of the African golden cat (Profelis aurata).

Despite the wide variation in coat color, pelts 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.