Elusive, endangered wild cat seen in Thailand for the first time in 30 years

An elusive wild cat long feared extinct in Thailand has been rediscovered three decades after the last recorded sighting, conservation authorities and an NGO said Friday.

Flat-headed cats are among the world’s most threatened wild felines, with the International Union for Conservation of Nature estimating that just 2,500 adults exist in the wild. The rare animals are about the size of a domestic cat and have distinctive, round, close-set eyes.

Flat-headed cats are found only in Southeast Asia and typically live in dense wetland ecosystems like peat swamps and freshwater mangroves. Such areas are under threat: Thailand’s peat swamp forests have been heavily fragmented, largely due to land conversion and agricultural expansion, said veterinarian and researcher Kaset Sutasha of Kasetsart University. The last confirmed sighting of a flat-headed cat in Thailand was in 1995. 

Last year, wild cat conservation organization Panthera and Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation began an ecological survey that used camera traps in the country’s Princess Sirindhorn Wildlife Sanctuary. 

Flat-headed cats were detected 29 times during the survey, Panthera and Thai officials said. It was not immediately clear how many individuals the detections represent, as the species lacks distinctive markings, so counting is tricky. Pattanarangsan said the survey’s findings suggest a relatively high concentration of the species. 

The footage included a female flat-headed cat with her cub — a rare and encouraging sign for a species that typically produces only one offspring at a time. The species has also struggled to reproduce across isolated areas, contributing to its endangerment. 

Kaset, who was not involved in the survey but has researched wild cats for years, said the “rediscovery is exciting” but is only a “starting point” for future conservation efforts. 

“What comes after this is more important — how to enable them to live alongside us sustainably, without being threatened,” Kaset said. 

In addition to Thailand, flat-headed cats can be found in Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo, according to the Felidae Conservation Fund. They have a diet dominated by fish, frogs and shrimp, and are nocturnal, elusive animals.  

Much about the species remains a mystery because of their rarity and the difficulty of accessing their habitats, Panthera conservation program manager Rattapan Pattanarangsan said.