Elusive wild cat species in Thailand feared to be extinct REDISCOVERED in wildlife sanctuary

• The flat-headed cat, last scientifically documented in the country in 1995, was captured on camera traps in the Princess Sirindhorn Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Researchers recorded 29 detections, including footage of a female with a cub, indicating active reproduction for this endangered species, which has a global population of only about 2,500 mature adults.
• The cat is a highly specialized wetland species vulnerable to habitat destruction. It depends on dense peat swamps and mangroves for hunting aquatic prey, but these habitats in Thailand have been heavily fragmented and drained for agriculture, leading to its presumed local extinction.
• The finding highlights the value of protected areas but underscores ongoing vulnerability. While the sanctuary serves as a crucial refuge, the population is likely isolated and faces threats from habitat fragmentation, reduced genetic diversity, and diseases from domestic animals.
• The rediscovery is a call to action for expanded conservation efforts. Experts emphasize the need for intensive work, including potential habitat expansion, creation of wildlife corridors, and threat management to ensure the long-term survival of this population.

In a discovery that has electrified the conservation world, a wild cat species long feared extinct in Thailand has been captured on camera, defying three decades of silence and offering a fragile beacon of hope for one of the planet’s rarest felines.

The flat-headed cat (Prionailurus planiceps), a domestic cat-sized predator with distinctive, closely-set eyes, was rediscovered in southern Thailand’s Princess Sirindhorn Wildlife Sanctuary. The finding was announced on Dec. 26 by the Thai Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and the global wild cat organization Panthera.

The last scientifically documented sighting of a flat-headed cat in Thailand occurred in 1995. For nearly 30 years, no confirmed evidence of its survival emerged, leading experts to grimly list the species within the country as “possibly extinct.”

The cat’s entire global range is confined to the wetlands of Southeast Asia, including parts of Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. Internationally, the International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies it as endangered, estimating a total global population of only about 2,500 mature adults. Its disappearance from Thailand was attributed to the catastrophic fragmentation and destruction of its specialized habitat.

The turning point came from an unblinking electronic eye. Starting last year, researchers deployed camera traps—remote, motion-activated cameras—within the dense, waterlogged terrain of the sanctuary. The results were staggering: 29 separate detections of the flat-headed cat.

While the species lacks individual markings like stripes or spots, making an exact headcount impossible, the frequency of detections suggests a surprisingly robust local concentration. The most heartening footage of all captured a female flat-headed cat moving through the forest with her single cub, a critical sign of active reproduction for a species that typically bears only one offspring at a time.

How habitat loss silenced a species

Understanding why the flat-headed cat vanished—and why this rediscovery is so significant—requires a look into its unique ecology. This feline is not a creature of dry forests or mountains. It is a highly specialized inhabitant of dense, often impenetrable wetland ecosystems, including peat swamps and freshwater mangroves.

These areas are its supermarket and its sanctuary; its diet is dominated by aquatic prey like fish, frogs and shrimp. Its nocturnal and secretive nature, combined with the challenging, waterlogged terrain it calls home, has made it notoriously difficult for scientists to study, leaving many aspects of its life a mystery.

The primary driver of the flat-headed cat’s decline is habitat loss. Thailand’s vital peat swamp forests have been heavily fragmented and drained over decades, largely converted for agricultural expansion such as palm oil plantations and other crops. This process of land conversion shatters continuous wild areas into isolated patches, a phenomenon known as habitat fragmentation.

For species like the flat-headed cat, this creates islands of suitable environment cut off from one another, trapping small populations that then struggle to find mates and maintain genetic diversity. The animals in these pockets also face increased threats from diseases transmitted by domestic dogs and cats from nearby human settlements.

Conservationists are tempering celebration with sober realism. The rediscovery is a powerful testament to the resilience of nature and the value of protected areas like the Princess Sirindhorn Wildlife Sanctuary, which act as final arks for biodiversity.

However, experts warn this is not a sign that the crisis is over, but rather a crucial starting pistol for more intensive conservation work. The detected population, while encouraging, remains isolated and vulnerable on a landscape scale. The critical question now is whether these cats can be connected to other potential populations or if their sanctuary can be expanded and fortified.

The path forward is fraught with complexity. True conservation extends beyond documenting presence. It requires managing the landscape to reduce threats from human activity and disease and potentially creating wildlife corridors—protected pathways that allow animals to move between forest fragments.

Watch this video about animals that went extinct in recorded history.

This video is from the Weltansicht channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include: 

Phys.org

NZHerald.co.nz

CBSNews.com

BrightU.ai

Brighteon.com