Thebay cat (Catopuma badia), also known as theBornean bay cat, is a small wildcatendemic to the island ofBorneo that appears to be relatively rare compared tosympatric wild cats, based on the paucity of historical, as well as recent records. Since 2002, it has been listed asEndangered on theIUCN Red List because it is estimated that fewer than 2,500 mature individuals exist, and that the population declined in the past.[1] The bay cat has been recorded as rare and seems to occur at relatively low density, even in pristine habitats.[2]
Tissue and blood samples were acquired only in late 1992 from the female brought to theSarawak Museum.[6]Morphological andgenetic analysis confirmed the close relationship with the Asian golden cat, and that the two species had been separated from acommon ancestor for 4.9 to 5.3 million years, long before thegeological separation of Borneo from mainland Asia.[7]
The bay cat's classification asCatopuma was widely recognized until 2006.[8] Because of the evident close relationship of the bay cat and the Asian golden cat with themarbled cat, all three species were suggested in 2006 to be grouped in the genusPardofelis.[9]
The bay cat's fur is of a bright chestnut colour, but paler beneath, the limbs and the tail being rather paler and more reddish. The ears are rounded, covered with a short blackish-brown fur at the outer side, paler brown within and with a narrow brown margin. The tail is elongated and tapering at the end, with a white central streak occupying the rear 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.[3]
Its 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 without any white spot. The underside of the chin is white, and two faint brown stripes are on the cheeks.[10]In the years between 1874 and 2004, only 12 specimens were measured. Their head-to-body length varied from 49.5–67 cm (19.5–26.4 in) with 30–40.3 cm (11.8–15.9 in) long tails.[11] They were estimated to have an adult weight of 3–4 kg (6.6–8.8 lb), but too few living specimens have been obtained to allow a more reliable estimate.[6]
In the 19th century, only seven bay cat skins surfaced, and the first live female caught in 1992 on theSarawak–Indonesian border was brought to theSarawak Museum on the verge of death.[6]In the mid-1990s, the most reliable sightings have been reported inGunung Palung National Park and the upperKapuas River inWest Kalimantan. Two concentrations were reported in the island's interior at the time, in habitat types varying fromswamp forests, lowlanddipterocarp forest to hill forests up to at least 500 m (1,600 ft).[12] One unconfirmed sighting occurred at 1,800 m (5,900 ft) onMount Kinabalu.[13]It inhabits densetropical forests, and has been observed in rockylimestone outcrops and in logged forest, and close to thecoast. At least three specimens were found near rivers, but this was probably due to collector convenience rather than evidence of habitat preference. In 2002, a bay cat was photographed in Sarawak'sGunung Mulu National Park.[14]From 2003 to 2005, 15 single bay cats were observed in Sarawak,Sabah and Kalimantan, but none inBrunei. Almost all the historical and recent records are from close proximity to water bodies such as rivers andmangroves, suggesting the bay cat may be closely associated with such habitats.[11]
In central Sarawak, only one individual was recorded in more than a year ofcamera trapping between August 2010 and November 2011 in an area that was regenerating fromlogging.[15]Most records of the bay cat obtained in Sarawak between 2003 and 2018 were located in lowland riverine and montane forests below 700 m (2,300 ft); its occurrence increased at a distance of 10 km (6.2 mi) away from roads.[16]
In Sabah, a camera trapping survey from July 2008 to January 2009 in the northwestern part ofDeramakot Forest Reserve yielded one photo of a male bay cat in an area of about 112 km2 (43 sq mi) in a total survey effort of 1916 camera trap nights. This record expanded the known range of the bay cat to the north.[17]Between May and December 2011, it was also recorded in the Kalabakan Forest Reserve, a highly-disturbed commercial forest reserve that had been logged between 1978 and the early 2000s; natural forest remains in an area of 2,240 km2 (860 sq mi), and large terrain is covered by an oil palmplantation and access roads. The bay cat was photographed off-trail in seven of eight records, indicating that it tends to avoid logged areas.[18]A repeated survey in Kalabakan Forest Reserve in 2018 yielded records in just eight of 74 locations during more than 7,200 camera trap days.[19]One individual was recorded inDanum Valley Conservation Area.[20]Data from 578 camera trapping stations in eight forest reserves and two plantation sites in Sabah revealed that the bay cat inhabits core forest areas with no to little disturbance at elevations of 127–1,051 m (417–3,448 ft), but does not live in plantations.[21]
InEast Kalimantan, it was recorded in at elevations from 69 to 400 m (226 to 1,312 ft) inKutai National Park, Wehea Protection Forest and Sungai Wain Protection Forest during surveys in 2012 and 2013.[22]InCentral Kalimantan, a single bay cat was recorded in a mosaic ofheath andpeat swamp forest in the Rungan River catchment area during surveys between 2016 and 2018.[23] In 2023, the bay cat was again seen inKayan Mentarang National Park inNorth Kalimantan through surveillance cameras installed by national park officials. Previously, in 2021 and 2022, routine patrols and camera traps were conducted but yielded no results. The last time a bay cat was seen in the area was in 2003 via surveillance cameras by Dave Augeri and the WWF Kayan Mentarang Project crews.[24]
Bay cats recorded in Sabah exhibited adiurnal activity pattern with a peak in the morning and another peak in the early afternoon.[21]Bay cats recorded in nine study areas in both protected and non-protected areas in Sarawak were also diurnal.[16]
In Sarawak, a bay cat was allegedly observed on a branch 1 m (3 ft 3 in) from the ground close to the river during a night hunting expedition.[11]Nothing is known about its diet and reproductive behavior.[10][17][25]
The bay cat is forest-dependent and increasingly threatened byhabitat destruction followingdeforestation in Borneo. Habitat loss due to commercial logging and conversion tooil palm plantations pose the greatest threat to the bay cat. Oil palm plantations are likely to expand in the future as a result of the push forbiofuels.[1] 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.[26]Less than 6% of Indonesia's and Malaysia's land region is protected.[18]
Poaching for theillegal wildlife trade also poses a significant threat. Bay cats have been captured in the wild for the trade as pets and skins.[1]
The bay cat is listed onCITES Appendix II. It is fully protected by national legislation across most of its range. Hunting and trade are prohibited in Kalimantan, Sabah, and Sarawak. The bay cat remains one of the least studied of the world's wild cats, hampering the development of conservation actions.[1][22]
^Pocock, R. I. (1932). "The marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata) and some other Oriental species, with a definition of a new genus of the Felidae".Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London.102:741–766.doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1932.tb01095.x.
^Hemmer, H. (1978). "The evolutionary systematics of living Felidae: Present status and current problems".Carnivore.1 (1):71–79.
^Meijaard, E. (1997). "The bay cat in Borneo".Cat News (27):21–23.
^Payne, J. C. M.; Francis, C. M. & Phillipps, K. (1985).A field guide to the mammals of Borneo. Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia: The Sabah Society.
^Dinets, V. (2003). "First photo of Bornean bay cat in the wild?".Cat News (38): 14.
^Hon, J.; Shibata, S. & Samejima, H. (2020). "Species composition and use of natural salt licks by wildlife inside a production forest environment in central Sarawak". In Ishikawa N. & Soda R. (eds.).Anthropogenic Tropical Forests. Advances in Asian Human-Environmental Research. Singapore: Springer. pp. 171–180.doi:10.1007/978-981-13-7513-2_9.ISBN978-981-13-7511-8.S2CID210259395.
^abMohamed, A.; Samejima, H. & Wilting, A. (2009). "Records of five Bornean cat species from Deramakot Forest Reserve in Sabah, Malaysia".Cat News (51):12–15.
^Laneng, L. A.; Nakamura, F.; Tachiki, Y. & Vairappan, C. S. (2021). "Camera-trapping assessment of terrestrial mammals and birds in rehabilitated forest in INIKEA Project Area, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo".Landscape and Ecological Engineering.17 (2):135–146.Bibcode:2021LaEcE..17..135L.doi:10.1007/s11355-020-00442-7.S2CID234285321.
^Nowell, K.; Jackson, P. (1996)."Bornean Bay Cat".Wild Cats: status survey and conservation action plan. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group. Archived fromthe original on 2022-01-09. Retrieved2011-04-04.
