‘Golden’ predator — the source of legends — caught on trail cam in Thailand. See it
There are stories of the “fire tigers.”
Creeping through the forests of Thailand, the nocturnal predator hunts under the cover of darkness.
They have “golden” coats and a ferocity unmatched by their orange and black striped cousins.
They are incredibly rare animals, captured only in fleeting glances between thick forest underbrush — until now.
In Khao Sok National Park, in the southern peninsula of Thailand, a trail camera installed by wildlife officials captured one of these mysterious big cats stalking through the forest, according to an April 30 Facebook post from Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.
The Asiatic Golden Cat, or Temminck’s Cat as it’s sometimes known, is a medium-sized wild cat on the verge of extinction, wildlife officials said.
They have a smooth fur coat, wildlife officials said, which is sometimes reddish-brown, sometimes a darker brown, black or gray. The cats have two black lines running down their foreheads and white tips to their long tails.
Asiatic golden cats spend most of their lives on the ground, but they are also skilled climbers and will go up into trees to hunt a variety of rodents, birds, hares, reptiles and insects, according to wildlife officials.
They are also not afraid of a larger target and regularly hunt deer and wild boar, wildlife officials said.
The cats are called “fire tigers” and “stone leopards” by local groups, and they are the subject of multiple myths and legends.
According to Thai National Parks, some communities believe the cat’s fur keeps dangerous tigers away and will burn the pelt of the animals as a preventative measure, or eat the animal.
Some people believe that just by holding a single hair off the golden cats you may be protected from tigers, according to the park service.
Indigenous groups in Thailand consider the cats to be fierce, but when kept in captivity they are often peaceful and docile, according to Thai National Parks.
Asiatic golden cats are among the world’s endangered big cats and were “near threatened” when the species was last evaluated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List in 2014.
The animals live throughout southeast Asia, ranging from Tibet to Malaysia, preferring evergreen and tropical forest habitats, according to Thai National Parks.
Facebook’s translation was used to translate the post from the กรมอุทยานแห่งชาติ สัตว์ป่า และพันธุ์พืช.
This story was originally published May 1, 2024 at 4:37 PM with the headline "‘Golden’ predator — the source of legends — caught on trail cam in Thailand. See it."
