Borneo Bay Cat (Catopuma badia)
The Borneo Bay Cat is one of the three wild cats in the Bay Cat family. The other two close relatives of this cat are the Asiatic Golden Cat and the Marbled Cat. These small cats inhabit the forests of South East Asia and very little is known about them.
The Borneo Bay Cat is very rare and only occurs on Borneo where very few sightings have been recorded. The Bay Cat looks similar to its cousin, the Asiatic Golden Cat, with facial markings and variable plain coat colors, just smaller in size.
This cat is also likely dependent on forest habitat and thus threatened primarily by increasing deforestation on the island. Other threats include poaching for the wildlife and pet market due to the cat's rarity.
Borneo Bay Cat Audio
Listen to a short audio taken from the Borneo Bay Cat chapter from The Wild Cat Book by Fiona and Mel Sunquist.
This excerpt covers the story of how the cats were rediscovered after they were suspected to be extinct in the wild.
(Apologies for background noise - new recording scheduled :))
1 Observation of a Bay Cat on iNaturalist
Testament to how rare this cat is, there is only 1 sighting of a Bay Cat on iNaturalist.
iNaturalist is a global platform for the public to upload images of wild creatures they have seen in nature. If you have any photos of natural biodiversity from your travels be sure to open an account and upload your images. Identification is verified by other members and the data can be used in future research. A great way to contribute to conservation and research!
Note there are images of dead animals in case you are a sensitive viewer.
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