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Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing African golden cats. These are some of the least studied felines alive today. Many people haven't even heard of African golden cats let alone seen them. One scientist studying them didn't see one alive in the wild for her first three years of research, and all of this is because these cats are the only forest dependent felines in Africa. Most African cats spend at least part of their days in more easily accessible grassland habitats, this even applies to the caracal, the African golden cat’s closest relative and congener, but the golden cats themselves require forest to live, and they prefer dense, difficult to navigate forest at that. Most information about them has been gathered through camera traps placed deep in the tropical jungles of western and central Africa. Oh, and even though they have a similar sounding name and appearance to the Asian golden cat, these two species aren’t related.

Even the name African golden cat can be a bit misleading. Although these felines do come in a golden hue, this is only part of what their pelage has to offer. These mammals range from nearly black to deep red to golden brown. There are two main color morphs accepted as of this recording, the golden color morph which also displays as red, and the grey color morph. It was once believed that these felines change color over time, based on a skin that seemed to show the fur color changing along the tail, but that has since been refuted, as the skin was found to come from two different animals. African golden cats also sport spots, although, even these are a little different from the spots seen in most other cat species, even the closely related ones.

An African golden cat may have a spot free back, but they almost always have spots along their belly! The opposite is usually true for most cat species who sport paler bellies. There are still fully spotted African golden cats, however, as the fur pattern is linked to location. African golden cats who live in western Africa are more likely to sport more spots than those living in central Africa. There's not really an understanding of why any of the golden cat's freaky fur functions occur. Heck, it's even possible for a golden color morph and a grey color morph kitten to be born into the same litter!

The current understanding of African golden cat reproduction is extremely limited. Based on the observation of a single pair in captivity, it's believed these felines gestate for 75 days, have small litters of one or two kittens, and start eating meat around 6 weeks old. Kittens are rarely observed in the wild, so it's likely that mothers keep their young in a den under or inside a fallen log, or somewhere else just as secure.. Based on observations from the captive pair, African golden cats reach maturity at about 11 months for females and 18 months for males. They may also live longer than a decade, but, again, this comes from captive records.

In the wild, African golden cats face many threats, most of them anthropogenic in nature. Habitat loss is damaging to populations because these cats require forest to live. There is evidence that they can tolerate some level of logging in their range, as this tends to increase the rodent population in that area, however, portions of their home are being entirely cut down for agriculture where the cats can't survive. They also face pressures from the bushmeat trade where they're caught in snares and sold for meat and hides, although there's little evidence to support the species is specifically targeted. There are also some places where their habitat overlaps with leopards, and there are some reports of leopards preying on golden cats, but overall these interactions are limited.

Throughout most of their range, African golden cats sit atop the food chain. Reaching approximately 30 inches, 80 centimeters long, not including their 8 inch, 20 centimeter, tail, and weighing 17 pounds, 8 kilograms, these are some of the largest carnivorous mammals around. They eat just about anything half their weight or smaller, however most of their diet is composed of rodents and small antelope called duikers– we've discussed them in a previous episode. Observations suggest that African golden cats do most of their hunting on the ground and they silently stalk their prey until a final pounce. Once captured, the cat quickly bites the back of the animal's neck for a killing blow.

African golden cats are described as cathemeral which means they may be active during any part of the day or night. They're solitary and territorial, marking their range with urine and feces. Although they like dense forests, these cats utilize roads and paths to get around. In some parts of their range, that means literally walking along forest roads, such as logging roads, but in a lot of their range that means using corridors made by elephants who also share their habitat.

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