The Asian golden cat (Catopuma temminckii) also known as Temminck's cat or the Asiatic golden cat, is a medium-sized wild cat native to the northeastern Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and southern China. The Asian golden cat's scientific name honours Coenraad Jacob Temminck.
It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2025, and is threatened by poaching and habitat destruction, since Southeast Asian forests are undergoing the world's fastest regional deforestation as well as poaching for the illegal wildlife trade, where its pelt and bones are often sold as substitutes for tiger parts in traditional medicine.
It is part of the bay cat lineage. It is most closely related to the endemic Bornean bay cat, with which it shares the genus Catopuma. The two species diverged from a common ancestor several million years ago and, along with the marbled cat, form a distinct evolutionary branch of felids.
The Asian golden cat is larger than a domestic cat. It has a head-to-body length of , with a long tail, and is tall at the shoulder. Its weight ranges from , with males generally being larger than females. It is highly polymorphic, occurring in reddish, golden, cinnamon, gray, brown, ocelot and melanistic morphs.
The species is highly adaptable to a variety of forested environments such as tropical and subtropical moist evergreen forests, mixed deciduous forests, and occasionally more open habitats like bamboo thickets and shrublands. Primarily a solitary and terrestrial animal, the Asian golden cat is a climber capable of hunting in trees when necessary. It is an opportunistic carnivore with a hunting pattern that can be diurnal, crepuscular, or nocturnal depending on human disturbance and prey availability. Its diet consists largely of small ungulates such as muntjacs and chevrotains, alongside rodents, reptiles, birds, and occasionally domestic livestock.
Taxonomy Felis temminckii was the scientific name used in 1827 by Nicholas Aylward Vigors and Thomas Horsfield who described a reddish brown cat skin from Sumatra.Felis moormensis proposed by Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1831 was a young male cat caught alive by Moormi hunters in Nepal. Felis tristis proposed by Alphonse Milne-Edwards in 1872 was a spotted Asian golden cat from China.
Although briefly classified under the genus Pardofelis in 2007, a taxonomic revision determined that this species is retained in the genus Catopuma. This decision was based on morphological analysis showing that its skull structure, as well as the characteristics of its legs and tail, differ from other species within the genus Pardofelis. It was subordinated to the genus Catopuma proposed by Nikolai Severtzov in 1853.
Two subspecies have been recognised as valid since 2017: C. t. temminckii occurs in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula C. t. moormensis occurs from Nepal eastwards to Southeast Asia This recognition was based on molecular genetic analysis that identified Kra Isthmus as the geographic barrier separating them.
Phylogeny Phylogenetic analysis of the nuclear DNA in tissue samples from all Felidae species revealed that the evolutionary radiation of the Felidae began in Asia in the Miocene around . Analysis of mitochondrial DNA of all Felidae species indicates a radiation at around . The Asian golden cat forms an evolutionary lineage together with the bay cat (C. badia) and the marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata), which diverged from a common ancestor between , based on analysis of their nuclear DNA. All these species are grouped within the bay cat lineage.
Analysis of their mitochondrial DNA indicates a genetic divergence from their common ancestor between . Both models agree that the marbled cat is the first species of this lineage that diverged, while the Asian golden cat and the bay cat diverged from each other about
The divergence between the Asian golden cat and the bay cat is estimated to have occurred during the late Pliocene, approximately 3.16 million years ago, which is more recent than previous estimates. This process was driven by rising sea levels that submerged the Kra Isthmus, geographically dividing mainland Southeast Asia from the Sunda Shelf and diverging the two species.
The southern population located on the Sunda Shelf evolved into the bay cat, becoming highly dependent on tropical rainforest refugia that shrank due to climate change during the Last Glacial Maximum. In contrast, the northern population in mainland Southeast Asia evolved into the more adaptable Asian golden cat, which subsequently expanded southward to the Sunda Shelf such as Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula by utilizing land bridges available during the Pleistocene glacial periods. The difference in their coat colors highlights this evolutionary split. While the bay cat developed a more neutral camouflage adapted to life in a rainforest ecosystem, the Asian golden cat evolved a brighter and more varied coat to match its highly diverse range of environments.
Genetic analysis reveals very low nucleotide diversity across Asian golden cat populations. This lack of genetic variation suggests that the Asian golden cat experienced a severe population bottleneck, likely triggered by the Youngest Toba eruption approximately 74,000 years ago, which decimated vast tracts of tropical forest habitat across Southeast Asia, effectively forcing surviving populations into an ecological refugium in South China and Indochina. Following this near-extinction event, the Asian golden cat underwent continuous population expansion gradually repopulating regions outside of Indochina. While mainland populations remained highly polymorphic, displaying a wide variety of coat colors and patterns, the newly established populations south of the Kra Isthmus are predominantly reddish.
The following cladogram shows the phylogenetic relationships of the Asian golden cat:
Description
The Asian golden cat is a medium-sized cat with a head-to-body length of , with a long tail, and is tall at the shoulder. Its weight ranges from , which is about two or three times that of a domestic cat (Felis catus). The size of the tail is around one third and half of the body size. It exhibits sexual dimorphism, with females being smaller than males. It has 28 teeth.
The Asian golden cat has facial markings featuring white stripes edged in dark brown or black that stretch from the nose across the cheeks, highlight the inner corners of the eyes, and cross the top of its head. It has rounded ears with black backs and a distinct gray spot. Its chest, abdomen, and inner upper legs are pale white with light speckling, while the lower limbs and tail tip darken to gray or black. Its tail is white underneath with the tip curled upward.
It is polymorphic in colour. These variations include the distinct morphs golden, cinnamon, brown, spotted, brown, reddish-brown, gray, and black.
Distribution and habitat The Asian golden cat ranges from eastern Nepal, northeastern India and Bhutan to northeastern Bangladesh, to Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, southern China, Malaysia and Sumatra. It prefers forest habitats interspersed with rocky areas and inhabits dry deciduous, subtropical moist evergreen and tropical rainforests. They also inhabit shrub, grassland, plantations, subalpine, and secondary forests.
The lowest elevation at which the Asian golden cat was recorded was in Royal Manas National Park, and the highest was in Bhutan.
Since a live individual was captured in 1831, Nepal has been recognized as the westernmost extent of the species' rangewhich now extends to Jajarkot District. Within the country, the species has been recorded in Gaurishankar Conservation Area and Kangchenjunga landscape. A melanistic morph was recorded in Makalu Barun National Park, while grey and brown morphs were observed in the Tinjure-Milke-Jaljale area.
There are five distinct morphs which have been recorded in Bhutan, such as golden, gray, melanistic, spotted and cinnamon which were recorded at Torsa Strict Nature Reserve, Wangchuck Centennial National Park, Phrumsengla National Park. and forests in Trashigang. Four of the morphs, excluding the ocelot morph, were recorded in Jigme Dorji National Parkand Bumthang District. Spotted and gray morphs have also been recorded in Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park. Only melanistic morph was recorded in Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary and Sarpang Territorial Forest Division Asian golden cat was also recorded in Jomotsangkha Wildlife Sanctuary and Royal Manas National Park.
An Asian golden cat with large rosettes on its body was first described from a Chinese specimen in 1872. It was recorded in protected areas of the Qinling and Min Mountains between 2002 and 2009. The ocelot morph was recorded in Tangjiahe National Nature Reserve and Changqing National Nature Reserve. The golden morph is distributed across the Qinling and Hengduan Mountains, the Eastern Himalayas, southern Yunnanand Laohegou Nature Reserve.Gray morphs have also been recorded in the Eastern Himalayas, while the melanistic morph has been recorded in southern Yunnan. Additionally, cinnamon morphs were recored during surveys in 2024 in southern Yunnan and the Eastern Himalayas. In Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon and Gedang Township, all morph was recorded included golden, cinnamon, melanistic, spotted and gray morph.
The first record of the Asian golden cat in Bangladesh dates 1982 when a skin was collected in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Later, the cinnamon morph was recorded in the West Bhanugach Reserve Forest in Moulvibazar alongside the melanistic morph. The Asian golden cat was also recorded in Patharia Hill Reserve and Satchari National Park.
In India, the Asian golden cat has been documented in various protected areas, beginning with a recorded sighting in Manas National Park in 2007. The species has also been confirmed in Mizoram's Dampa Tiger Reserve,Neora valley National Park,Namdapha National Park, Talley Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, Dehing Patkai Landscape, East Garo Hill, South Garo hill, Jaintia Hill and Singchung-Bugun Village Community Reserve. Several distinct coat morphs have been observed across different regions. Khangchendzonga National Park recorded the melanistic morph in their area. Grey morph was recorded in Pakke Tiger Reserve. Cinnamon, melanistic and brown morphs have been documented in the Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary. Both brown and golden morph was recorded in Nongkhyllem Wildlife Sanctuary. Additionally, spotted, golden, and melanistic morphs have been seen in Buxa Tiger Reserve Dibang Valley recorded all five coat variations, including the golden, grey, cinnamon, melanistic, and ocelot morphs and a cinnamon morph was also recorded in Kingpao village in the Tuensang district.
In Indonesia, reddish brown morphs were recorded in Sumatra in 1872It has been recorded in Kerinci Seblat, Gunung Leuser Batang Gadis National Park, Bukit Tigapuluh National Park and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Parks. Melanistic morphs were recorded in Bukit Rimbang Bukit Baling Wildlife Sanctuary and Kerinci Seblat National Park, Sumatra.
In Myanmar, it was recorded in Hkakaborazi National Park and its surrounding area, hill forests of Kayin State., Hukaung Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, and Tanintharyi Nature Reserve A few skin was found in Hponkanrazi, Hkakaborazi, Ali-aung, Tahaundam, Nam Tamai, Bumhpa Bum Wildlife Sanctuary and Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary.
In Thailand, it was sighted in Khao Yai National Park, Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex, Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary, Kui Buri National Park,Thap Lan National Park, Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary, Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary, Khao Luang National Park, Phu Khiao Wildlife Sanctuary and Khlong Nakha Wildlife Sanctuary.