Bay Cat
Encyclopedia
The Bay Cat also known as Bornean Cat, Bornean Bay Cat, Bornean Marbled Cat, is a wild cat
endemic to the island of Borneo
that appears relatively rare compared to sympatric felids, based on the paucity of historical as well as recent records. In 2002, the IUCN classified the forest-dependent species as endangered
because of a projected population decline by more than 20% by 2020 due to habitat loss. As of 2007, the effective population size was suspected to be below 2,500 mature individuals.
Bay cats have historically been recorded as rare and today seem to occur at relatively low
density, even in pristine habitat.
In the years between 1874 to 2004, only 12 specimens were measured. Head-to-body length varied from 495 to 670 mm (19.5 to 26.4 in) with 300 to 403 mm (11.8 to 15.9 in) long tails. It is estimated to have an adult weight of 3 to 4 kg (6.6 to 8.8 lb), but too few living specimens have been obtained to allow a more reliable estimate.
The short, rounded head is dark greyish brown with two dark stripes originating from the corner of each eye, and the back of the head has a dark ‘M’ shaped marking. The backs of the ears are dark greyish, lacking the central white spots found on many other cat species. The underside of the chin is white and there are two faint brown stripes on the cheeks. Body proportions and the extremely long tail give it the look of the new world jaguarundi
.
and widely distributed on the island. But there are two concentrations of reports in the island's interior. The information suggests that they occur over a wide range of habitat types, varying from swamp forests, lowland dipterocarp forest to hill forests up to at least 500 m (1,640.4 ft). In the mid 1990s, the most reliable sightings have been reported from the upper Kapuas River
in West Kalimantan
, and in the Gunung Palung National Park
. One unconfirmed sighting occurred at 1800 m (5,905.5 ft) on Mount Kinabalu
.
They inhabit dense tropical forests, and have been observed in rocky limestone
outcrops and in logged forest, and some close to the coast
. At least three specimens were found near rivers, but this is probably due to collector convenience rather than evidence of habitat preference. From 2003 to 2005, 15 bay cats were recorded in Kalimantan, Sabah
and Sarawak
but not in Brunei
. These records consist of single opportunistic observations. Almost all the historical and recent records are from close proximity to water bodies such as rivers and mangroves, suggesting that the bay cat may be closely associated with such habitat.
A Camera trap
ping survey from July 2008 to January 2009 in the northwestern part of Sabah's Deramakot Forest Reserve in an area of about 112 km² (43.2 sq mi) yielded one photo of a male bay cat in a total sampling effort of 1916 trap nights. This record expands the range of bay cats to the north.
Alfred Russel Wallace
sent the first skin and skull of a bay cat from Sarawak
to the British Museum of Natural History in 1855. A total of seven skins surfaced over the following decades, but not until 1992 was a living specimen trapped on the Sarawak
– Indonesia
n border and brought to the Sarawak Museum, on the verge of death.
Camera trapping surveys during 2003–2006 yielded only one photo of a bay cat in 5,034 trap nights. According to unconfirmed anecdotal records from Sarawak, a bay cat was observed on a branch 1 m (3.3 ft) from the ground close to the river during a night hunting expedition. A local animal collector near Lachau
, Sarawak, claimed that he accidentally trapped two bay cats on separate occasions in December 2003. He reported that the bay cats entered his aviary and attacked his pheasant
s. One cat died in captivity, and the other was released.
Nothing is known about their feeding ecology and reproductive behavior.
.
Borneo has one of the world's highest deforestation rates. While in the mid-1980s forests still covered nearly three quarters of the island, by 2005 only 52% of Borneo was still forested. Both forests and land make way for human settlement. Illegal trade in wildlife is a widely spread practice.
Although Borneo has 25 wildlife reserves, only three are actually in existence, with the others only proposed. All of these reserves have been encroached upon by human settlement and logging. Unfortunately local trappers and animal dealers are also well aware that foreign zoos and breeding facilities will pay US $10,000 or more for a live animal.
Officially, there are no bay cats in captivity.
placed the species in the monotypic genus Badiofelis. In 1978, it was placed in the genus Catopuma.
Tissue and blood samples were acquired only in late 1992 from the female brought to the Sarawak Museum. Morphological
and genetic analysis
confirmed the close relationship with the Asian golden cat, and that the two species had been separated from a common ancestor for 4.9 to 5.3 million years, long before the geological
separation of Borneo from mainland Asia.
The bay cat's classification as Catopuma was widely recognized until 2006. Because of the evident close relationship of bay cat and Asian golden cat with the marbled cat, it was suggested in 2006 that all three species should be grouped in the genus Pardofelis
.
Felidae
Felidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid. Felids are the strictest carnivores of the thirteen terrestrial families in the order Carnivora, although the three families of marine mammals comprising the superfamily pinnipedia are as carnivorous as the...
endemic to the island of Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
that appears relatively rare compared to sympatric felids, based on the paucity of historical as well as recent records. In 2002, the IUCN classified the forest-dependent species as endangered
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
because of a projected population decline by more than 20% by 2020 due to habitat loss. As of 2007, the effective population size was suspected to be below 2,500 mature individuals.
Bay cats have historically been recorded as rare and today seem to occur at relatively low
density, even in pristine habitat.
Characteristics
The bay cat is much larger than the Asian golden cat. Its fur is of a bright chestnut-colour, rather paler beneath, the limbs and the tail being rather paler and redder. The tail is elongate, tapering at the end, with a white central streak occupying the hinder half of the lower side, gradually becoming wider and of a purer white towards the tip, which has a small black spot at its upper end. The ears are rounded, covered with a short blackish-brown fur at the outer side, paler brown within and with a narrow brown margin.In the years between 1874 to 2004, only 12 specimens were measured. Head-to-body length varied from 495 to 670 mm (19.5 to 26.4 in) with 300 to 403 mm (11.8 to 15.9 in) long tails. It is estimated to have an adult weight of 3 to 4 kg (6.6 to 8.8 lb), but too few living specimens have been obtained to allow a more reliable estimate.
The short, rounded head is dark greyish brown with two dark stripes originating from the corner of each eye, and the back of the head has a dark ‘M’ shaped marking. The backs of the ears are dark greyish, lacking the central white spots found on many other cat species. The underside of the chin is white and there are two faint brown stripes on the cheeks. Body proportions and the extremely long tail give it the look of the new world jaguarundi
Jaguarundi
The jaguarundi is a small-sized wild cat native to Central and South America. In 2002, the IUCN classified the jaguarundi as Least Concern as it is likely that no conservation units, with the probable exception of the mega-reserves of the Amazon basin could sustain long-term viable populations. It...
.
Distribution and habitat
Bay cats are endemic to BorneoBorneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
and widely distributed on the island. But there are two concentrations of reports in the island's interior. The information suggests that they occur over a wide range of habitat types, varying from swamp forests, lowland dipterocarp forest to hill forests up to at least 500 m (1,640.4 ft). In the mid 1990s, the most reliable sightings have been reported from the upper Kapuas River
Kapuas River
The Kapuas River is a river in the Indonesian part of Borneo island, at the geographic center of Maritime Southeast Asia. At in length, it is the longest river of Indonesia and one of the world's longest island rivers...
in West Kalimantan
West Kalimantan
West Kalimantan is a province of Indonesia. It is one of four Indonesian provinces in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital city Pontianak is located right on the Equator....
, and in the Gunung Palung National Park
Gunung Palung National Park
Gunung Palung National Park lies on the island of Borneo, in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, north of Ketapang and east of Sukadana.- Geography:...
. One unconfirmed sighting occurred at 1800 m (5,905.5 ft) on Mount Kinabalu
Mount Kinabalu
Mount Kinabalu is a prominent mountain on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It is located in the East Malaysian state of Sabah and is protected as Kinabalu National Park, a World Heritage Site. Kinabalu is the tallest peak in Borneo's Crocker Range and is the tallest mountain in the Malay...
.
They inhabit dense tropical forests, and have been observed in rocky limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
outcrops and in logged forest, and some close to the coast
Coast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
. At least three specimens were found near rivers, but this is probably due to collector convenience rather than evidence of habitat preference. From 2003 to 2005, 15 bay cats were recorded in Kalimantan, Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
and Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
but not in Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
. These records consist of single opportunistic observations. Almost all the historical and recent records are from close proximity to water bodies such as rivers and mangroves, suggesting that the bay cat may be closely associated with such habitat.
A Camera trap
Camera trap
A camera trap is a remotely activated camera that is equipped with a motion sensor or an infrared sensor, or uses a light beam as a trigger. Camera trapping is a method for capturing wild animals on film when researchers are not present, and has been used in ecological research for decades...
ping survey from July 2008 to January 2009 in the northwestern part of Sabah's Deramakot Forest Reserve in an area of about 112 km² (43.2 sq mi) yielded one photo of a male bay cat in a total sampling effort of 1916 trap nights. This record expands the range of bay cats to the north.
Alfred Russel Wallace
Alfred Russel Wallace
Alfred Russel Wallace, OM, FRS was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist...
sent the first skin and skull of a bay cat from Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
to the British Museum of Natural History in 1855. A total of seven skins surfaced over the following decades, but not until 1992 was a living specimen trapped on the Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
– Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n border and brought to the Sarawak Museum, on the verge of death.
Ecology and behavior
The secretive and nocturnal behavior of bay cats, and possibly their low population density, may be an important cause of the rarity of sightings.Camera trapping surveys during 2003–2006 yielded only one photo of a bay cat in 5,034 trap nights. According to unconfirmed anecdotal records from Sarawak, a bay cat was observed on a branch 1 m (3.3 ft) from the ground close to the river during a night hunting expedition. A local animal collector near Lachau
Lachau
Lachau is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France.-Population:-References:*...
, Sarawak, claimed that he accidentally trapped two bay cats on separate occasions in December 2003. He reported that the bay cats entered his aviary and attacked his pheasant
Pheasant
Pheasants refer to some members of the Phasianinae subfamily of Phasianidae in the order Galliformes.Pheasants are characterised by strong sexual dimorphism, males being highly ornate with bright colours and adornments such as wattles and long tails. Males are usually larger than females and have...
s. One cat died in captivity, and the other was released.
Nothing is known about their feeding ecology and reproductive behavior.
Threats
Bay cats are forest-dependent, and are increasingly threatened by habitat destruction following deforestation in BorneoDeforestation in Borneo
Borneo, the third largest island in the world, divided between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, was once covered with dense rainforests, but along with its tropical lowland and highland forests, there has been extensive deforestation in the past sixty years. In the 1980s and 1990s the forests of...
.
Borneo has one of the world's highest deforestation rates. While in the mid-1980s forests still covered nearly three quarters of the island, by 2005 only 52% of Borneo was still forested. Both forests and land make way for human settlement. Illegal trade in wildlife is a widely spread practice.
Although Borneo has 25 wildlife reserves, only three are actually in existence, with the others only proposed. All of these reserves have been encroached upon by human settlement and logging. Unfortunately local trappers and animal dealers are also well aware that foreign zoos and breeding facilities will pay US $10,000 or more for a live animal.
Conservation
Pardofelis badia is listed on CITES Appendix II as Catopuma badia. It is fully protected by national legislation across most of its range. Hunting and trade are prohibited in Kalimantan, Sabah and Sarawak.Officially, there are no bay cats in captivity.
Taxonomy and evolution
In 1874, John Edward Gray first described a bay cat under the binominal Felis badia on the basis of a skin and skull collected in Sarawak in 1856. This cat was first thought to be a kitten of an Asian golden cat. In 1932, Reginald Innes PocockReginald Innes Pocock
Reginald Innes Pocock F.R.S. was a British zoologist.Pocock was born in Clifton, Bristol, the fourth son of Rev. Nicholas Pocock and Edith Prichard. He began showing interest in natural history at St. Edward's School, Oxford. He received tutoring in zoology from Sir Edward Poulton, and was allowed...
placed the species in the monotypic genus Badiofelis. In 1978, it was placed in the genus Catopuma.
Tissue and blood samples were acquired only in late 1992 from the female brought to the Sarawak Museum. Morphological
Morphological analysis
Morphological Analysis or General Morphological Analysis is a method developed by Fritz Zwicky for exploring all the possible solutions to a multi-dimensional, non-quantified problem complex.-Overview:...
and genetic analysis
Genetic analysis
Genetic analysis can be used generally to describe methods both used in and resulting from the sciences of genetics and molecular biology, or to applications resulting from this research....
confirmed the close relationship with the Asian golden cat, and that the two species had been separated from a common ancestor for 4.9 to 5.3 million years, long before the geological
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
separation of Borneo from mainland Asia.
The bay cat's classification as Catopuma was widely recognized until 2006. Because of the evident close relationship of bay cat and Asian golden cat with the marbled cat, it was suggested in 2006 that all three species should be grouped in the genus Pardofelis
Pardofelis
Pardofelis was first proposed by the Russian explorer and naturalist Nikolai Severtzov in 1858 as generic name comprising a single felid species occurring in tropical Asia, the marbled cat Pardofelis marmorata....
.