Rare Cat Caught On Video

Those of you who know me, know I love felines -notably wild felines.  Many people are familiar with  tigers, lions, cheetahs, and cougars (to name a few), however, there are quite a few wild felids that don't get much attention. Most of these cats are smaller - some similar in size to our house cats.


This is a story about a rare African golden cat.

Scientists capture rare video of elusive African cat

Scientists tracking one of Africa’s most elusive and poorly understood animals say they’ve recorded a rare – and possibly the only publicly released – video of the species in the wild.

The video, recorded by a motion-activated camera placed in a Gabon forest, shows an African golden cat: a shy, medium-sized feline that ducks human contact and lives in hard-to-access parts of central African forests.

“As far as we know, it’s never before been filmed (in the wild) for ... the public domain,” said Luke Hunter, president of Panthera, the conservation group providing most of the funding for the team that captured the video this year.

The footage, photos and other information that the team is gathering – part of an effort to get a population estimate in certain areas of Gabon’s forests – could contribute to a greater understanding of the species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature, which lists the animal as near-threatened, says it is not only infrequently observed in the wild, it is “Africa’s least studied felid.”


Read More and See a Short Video Clip of this Beauty