View source for Bay cat

{{Short description|Species of feline}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Bay cat 1 Jim Sanderson-cropped.jpg
| status = EN
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |author=Hearn, A. |author2=Brodie, J. |author3=Cheyne, S. |author4=Loken, B. |author5=Ross, J. |author6=Wilting, A. |year=2016 |errata=2017 |title=''Catopuma badia'' |article-number=e.T4037A112910221 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T4037A50650716.en}}</ref>
| status2 = CITES_A2 
| status2_system = CITES 
| status2_ref = <ref name=iucn/>
| genus = Catopuma
| species = badia
| authority = ([[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1874)<ref name=iucn/>
| range_map = BayCat distribution.jpg
| range_map_alt = Distribution of the Bay cat
| range_map_caption = Distribution of bay cat (2016)<ref name=iucn/>
| synonyms = {{species list
 | Felis badia | Gray, 1874
 | Pardofelis badia | (Gray, 1874) }}
}}

The '''bay cat''' ('''''Catopuma badia'''''), also known as the '''Bornean bay cat''', is a small wild [[felidae|cat]] [[endemic]] to the island of [[Borneo]] that appears to be relatively rare compared to [[sympatric]] wild cats, based on the paucity of historical, as well as recent records. Since 2002, it has been listed as [[Endangered]] on the [[IUCN Red List]] because it is estimated that fewer than 2,500 mature individuals exist, and that the population declined in the past.<ref name=iucn/> The bay cat has been recorded as rare and seems to occur at relatively low density, even in pristine habitats.<ref name="cbsg09">{{cite report |author1=Povey, K. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Sunarto, H. J. G. |author3=Priatna, D. |author4=Ngoprasert, D. |author5=Reed, D. |author6=Wilting, A. |author7=Lynam, A. |author8=Haidai, I. |author9=Long, B. |author10=Johnson, A. |author11=Cheyne, S. |author12=Breitenmoser, C. |author13=Holzer, K. |author14=Byers, O. |year=2009 |title=Clouded Leopard and Small Felid Conservation Summit Final Report |location=Apple Valley, MN |publisher=IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group |url=http://www.cbsg.org/cbsg/workshopreports/26/small_felids_2009_final_report.pdf |archive-date=2012-05-09 |access-date=2011-04-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509011943/http://www.cbsg.org/cbsg/workshopreports/26/small_felids_2009_final_report.pdf }}</ref>

==Taxonomy and evolution==
''Felis badia'' was the [[scientific name]] proposed by [[John Edward Gray]] in 1874, who first described a bay cat skin and skull collected by [[Alfred Russel Wallace]] in 1856 in Sarawak. This cat was first thought to be a kitten of an [[Asian golden cat]].<ref name=Gray1874>{{cite journal |last1=Gray |first1=J. E. |year=1874 |title=Description of a new Species of Cat (''Felis badia'') from Sarawak |journal=Proceedings of the Scientific Meetings of the Zoological Society of London for the Year 1874 |pages=322–323 |url=https://archive.org/stream/proceedingsofgen74zool#page/322/mode/2up}}</ref>
In 1932, [[Reginald Innes Pocock]] placed the species in the [[monotypic genus]] ''Badiofelis''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pocock |first1=R. I. |year=1932 |title=The marbled cat (''Pardofelis marmorata'') and some other Oriental species, with a definition of a new genus of the Felidae |journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London |volume=102 |pages=741–766 |doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.1932.tb01095.x }}</ref> In 1978, it was placed in the genus ''Catopuma''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hemmer |first1=H. |year=1978 |title=The evolutionary systematics of living Felidae: Present status and current problems |journal=Carnivore |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=71–79}}</ref>

Tissue and blood samples were acquired only in late 1992 from the female brought to the [[Sarawak Museum]].<ref name=Sunquist1994>{{cite journal |last1=Sunquist, M. E. |last2=Leh, C. |last3=Hills, D. M. |last4=Rajaratnam, R. |year=1994 |title=Rediscovery of the Bornean Bay Cat |journal=Oryx |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=67–70 |doi=10.1017/S0030605300028313 |doi-access=free}}</ref> [[Morphology (biology)|Morphological]] and [[genetic analysis]] confirmed the close relationship with the Asian golden cat, and that the two species had been separated from a [[common ancestor]] for 4.9 to 5.3 million years, long before the [[Geology|geological]] separation of Borneo from mainland Asia.<ref name=Johnson1999>{{cite book |last=Johnson, W. E. |author2=Ashiki, F. S. |author3=Menotti Raymond, M. |author4=Driscoll, C. |author5=Leh, C. |author6=Sunquist, M. |author7=Johnston, L. |author8=Bush, M. |author9=Wildt, D. |author10=Yuhki, N. |author11=O'Brien, S. J. |author12=Wasse, S. P. |name-list-style=amp |year=1999 |chapter=Molecular genetic characterization of two insular Asian cat species, Bornean Bay cat and Iriomote cat |editor=Vasser, S. P. |title=Evolutionary Theory and Process: Modern perspectives. Papers in Honour of Eviatar Nevo |publisher=Kluwer Academic Publishing |location=Dordrecht |pages=223–248 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FTtrd9cl8tAC&pg=PA223 |isbn=978-0-7923-5518-2}}</ref>

The bay cat's classification as ''Catopuma'' was widely recognized until 2006.<ref>{{MSW3 Wozencraft |id=14000024 |pages=545–546 |heading=Species ''Catopuma badia''}}</ref> Because of the evident close relationship of the bay cat and the Asian golden cat with the [[marbled cat]], all three species were suggested in 2006 to be grouped in the genus ''[[Pardofelis]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Johnson, W. E. |last2=Eizirik, E. |last3=Pecon-Slattery, J. |last4=Murphy, W. J. |last5=Antunes, A. |last6=Teeling, E. |last7=O'Brien, S. J. |name-list-style=amp |title=The late miocene radiation of modern Felidae: a genetic assessment |journal=Science |volume=311 |issue=5757 |pages=73–77 |year=2006 |pmid=16400146 |doi=10.1126/science.1122277 |bibcode=2006Sci...311...73J |s2cid=41672825 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1230866}}</ref>

==Characteristics==
[[File:Chat Bai 1874.jpg|thumb|Illustration of a bay cat<ref name="Gray1874"/>]]
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.<ref name="Gray1874"/>

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.<ref name=WCoW>{{cite book |last1=Sunquist, M. |last2=Sunquist, F. |year=2002 |title=Wild cats of the World |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |isbn=0-226-77999-8 |chapter=Bay cat ''Catopuma badia'' (Gray, 1874) |pages=48–51 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hFbJWMh9-OAC&pg=PA49}}</ref>
In the years between 1874 and 2004, only 12 specimens were measured. Their head-to-body length varied from {{cvt|49.5|-|67|cm}} with {{cvt|30|-|40.3|cm}} long tails.<ref name="Mohd-Azlan07"/> They were estimated to have an adult weight of {{cvt|3|-|4|kg}}, but too few living specimens have been obtained to allow a more reliable estimate.<ref name=Sunquist1994/>

== Distribution and habitat ==
In the 19th century, only seven bay cat skins surfaced, and the first live female caught in 1992 on the [[Sarawak]]–[[Indonesia]]n border was brought to the [[Sarawak Museum]] on the verge of death.<ref name=Sunquist1994/>
In the mid-1990s, the most reliable sightings have been reported in [[Gunung Palung National Park]] and the upper [[Kapuas River]] in [[West Kalimantan]]. Two concentrations were reported in the island's interior at the time, in habitat types varying from [[swamp forests]], lowland [[dipterocarp]] forest to hill forests up to at least {{cvt|500|m}}.<ref name=Meijaard97>{{cite journal |last1=Meijaard |first1=E. |year=1997 |title=The bay cat in Borneo |journal=Cat News |issue=27 |pages=21–23}}</ref> One unconfirmed sighting occurred at {{cvt|1800|m}} on [[Mount Kinabalu]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Payne |first1=J. C. M. |last2=Francis |first2=C. M. |last3=Phillipps |first3=K. |name-list-style=amp |year=1985 |title=A field guide to the mammals of Borneo |location=Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia |publisher=The Sabah Society}}</ref>
It inhabits dense [[tropical forest]]s, and has been observed in rocky [[limestone]] outcrops and in logged forest, and close to the [[coast]]. 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's [[Gunung Mulu National Park]].<ref name=Dinets2003>{{cite journal |last=Dinets, V. |year=2003 |title=First photo of Bornean bay cat in the wild? |journal=Cat News |issue=38 |page=14}}</ref>
From 2003 to 2005, 15 single bay cats were observed in Sarawak, [[Sabah]] and Kalimantan, but none in [[Brunei]]. Almost all the historical and recent records are from close proximity to water bodies such as rivers and [[mangroves]], suggesting the bay cat may be closely associated with such habitats.<ref name=Mohd-Azlan07>{{cite journal |last1=Mohd-Azlan, J. |last2=Sanderson, J. |name-list-style=amp |year=2007 |title=Geographic distribution and conservation status of the bay cat ''Catopuma badia'', a Bornean endemic |journal=Oryx |volume=41 |issue=3 |pages=394–397 |doi=10.1017/S0030605307000516 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In central Sarawak, only one individual was recorded in more than a year of [[camera trap]]ping between August 2010 and November 2011 in an area that was regenerating from [[logging]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Anthropogenic Tropical Forests |editor1=Ishikawa N. |editor2=Soda R. |publisher=Springer |location=Singapore |author1=Hon, J. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Shibata, S. |author3=Samejima, H. |year=2020 |chapter=Species composition and use of natural salt licks by wildlife inside a production forest environment in central Sarawak |series=Advances in Asian Human-Environmental Research |pages=171–180 |doi=10.1007/978-981-13-7513-2_9 |isbn=978-981-13-7511-8 |s2cid=210259395 |chapter-url=}}</ref>
Most records of the bay cat obtained in Sarawak between 2003 and 2018 were located in lowland riverine and montane forests below {{cvt|700|m}}; its occurrence increased at a distance of {{cvt|10|km}} away from roads.<ref name=Mohd-Azlan2023/>

In Sabah, a camera trapping survey from July 2008 to January 2009 in the northwestern part of [[Deramakot Forest Reserve]] yielded one photo of a male bay cat in an area of about {{cvt|112|km2}} in a total survey effort of 1916 camera trap nights. This record expanded the known range of the bay cat to the north.<ref name=Mohamed09>{{cite journal |last1=Mohamed |first1=A. |last2=Samejima |first2=H. |last3=Wilting |first3=A. |year=2009 |title=Records of five Bornean cat species from Deramakot Forest Reserve in Sabah, Malaysia |journal=Cat News |issue=51 |pages=12–15 |name-list-style=amp}}</ref>
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 {{cvt|2240|km2}}, and large terrain is covered by an oil palm [[plantation]] and access roads. The bay cat was photographed off-trail in seven of eight records, indicating that it tends to avoid logged areas.<ref name=Wearn_al2014>{{Cite journal |author1=Wearn, O. R. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Rowcliffe, J. M. |author3=Carbone, C. |author4=Bernard, H. |author5=Ewers, R. M. |date=2013 |title=Assessing the status of wild felids in a highly-disturbed commercial Forest Reserve in Borneo and the implications for camera trap survey design |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=8 |issue=11 |article-number=e77598 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0077598 |doi-access=free |pmc=3817192 |pmid=24223717|bibcode=2013PLoSO...877598W}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Laneng, L. A. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Nakamura, F. |author3=Tachiki, Y. |author4=Vairappan, C. S. |year=2021 |title=Camera-trapping assessment of terrestrial mammals and birds in rehabilitated forest in INIKEA Project Area, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo |journal=Landscape and Ecological Engineering |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=135–146 |doi=10.1007/s11355-020-00442-7 |bibcode=2021LaEcE..17..135L |s2cid=234285321 |url=}}</ref>
One individual was recorded in [[Danum Valley Conservation Area]].<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Nakabayashi, M. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Kanamori, T. |author3=Matsukawa, A. |author4=Tangah, J. |author5=Tuuga, A |author6=Malim, P.T. |author7=Bernard, H. |author8=Ahmad, A.H. |author9=Matsuda, I. |author10=Hanya, G. |year=2021 |title=Temporal activity patterns suggesting niche partitioning of sympatric carnivores in Borneo, Malaysia |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=19819 |doi= 10.1038/s41598-021-99341-6 |doi-access=free|pmid=34615956 |pmc=8494825 |bibcode=2021NatSR..1119819N |hdl=2433/276064 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
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 {{cvt|127-1051|m}}, but does not live in plantations.<ref name=Hearn_al2018>{{cite journal |author1=Hearn, A.J. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Cushman, S.A. |author3=Ross, J. |author4=Goossens, B. |author5=Hunter, L.T. |author6=Macdonald, D.W. |year=2018 |title=Spatio-temporal ecology of sympatric felids on Borneo. Evidence for resource partitioning? |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=13 |issue=7 |article-number=e0200828 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0200828 |doi-access=free|pmid=30028844 |pmc=6054408 |bibcode=2018PLoSO..1300828H }}</ref>

In [[East Kalimantan]], it was recorded in at elevations from {{cvt|69|to|400|m}} in [[Kutai National Park]], Wehea Protection Forest and Sungai Wain Protection Forest during surveys in 2012 and 2013.<ref name=Sastramidjaja_al2013>{{Cite journal |author1=Sastramidjaja, W.J. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Cheyne, S. |author3=Loken, B. |author4=Macdonald, D.M. |date=2015|title=The bay cat in Kalimantan, new information from recent sightings |journal=Cat News |issue=62 |pages=10–12 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280154321}}</ref>
In [[Central Kalimantan]], a single bay cat was recorded in a mosaic of [[heath]] and [[peat swamp forest]] in the Rungan River catchment area during surveys between 2016 and 2018.<ref name=Jeffers_al2019>{{cite journal |last1=Jeffers, K. A. |last2=Adul |last3=Cheyne |first3=S. M. |name-list-style=amp |year=2019 |title=Small cat surveys: 10 years of data from Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo |journal=Journal of Threatened Taxa |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=13478–13491 |doi=10.11609/jott.4466.11.4.13478-13491 |doi-access=free}}</ref> In 2023, the bay cat was again seen in [[Kayan Mentarang National Park]] in [[North 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mongabay.co.id/2025/06/02/setelah-20-tahun-kucing-misterius-ini-terpantau-di-kayan-mentarang/|title=Setelah 20 Tahun, Kucing Misterius ini Terpantau di Kayan Mentarang|website=mongabay.co.id|publisher=Mongabay|language=id|access-date=3 November 2025|date=2 June 2025|author=Nuswantoro|editor-first=Rahmadi|editor-last=R.}}</ref>

== Behavior and ecology ==
Bay cats recorded in Sabah exhibited a [[Diurnality|diurnal]] activity pattern with a peak in the morning and another peak in the early afternoon.<ref name=Hearn_al2018/>
Bay cats recorded in nine study areas in both protected and non-protected areas in Sarawak were also diurnal.<ref name=Mohd-Azlan2023>{{cite journal |author1=Mohd-Azlan, J. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Kaicheen, S.S. |author3=Hong, L.L.C. |author4=Yi, M.C.K. |author5=Maiwald, M.J. |author6=Helmy, O.E. |author7=Giordano, A.J. |author8=Brodie, J.F. |year=2023 |title=Ecology, occurrence and distribution of wild felids in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo |journal=Oryx |volume=57 |issue=2 |pages=252–261 |doi=10.1017/S0030605321001484 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In Sarawak, a bay cat was allegedly observed on a branch {{cvt|1|m}} from the ground close to the river during a night hunting expedition.<ref name=Mohd-Azlan07/>
Nothing is known about its diet and reproductive behavior.<ref name=WCoW/><ref name=Mohamed09/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Nowell |first1=K. |last2=Jackson |first2=P. |year=1996 |title=Wild Cats: status survey and conservation action plan |location=Gland, Switzerland |publisher=IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group |chapter=Bornean Bay Cat |chapter-url=http://www.catsg.org/catsgportal/cat-website/catfolk/badia01.htm |archive-date=2022-01-09 |access-date=2011-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109064139/http://www.catsg.org/catsgportal/cat-website/catfolk/badia01.htm }}</ref>

== Threats ==
[[File:Borneo fires and smoke, 2002.jpg|thumb|Satellite photo of Borneo showing smoke from burning [[peat swamp forest]]s]]
The bay cat is forest-dependent and increasingly threatened by [[habitat destruction]] following [[deforestation in Borneo]]. Habitat loss due to commercial logging and conversion to [[oil 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 for [[biofuel]]s.<ref name=iucn/> 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.<ref>{{cite report |author1=Rautner, M. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Hardiono, M. |author3=Alfred, R. J. |year=2005 |title=Borneo: Treasure Island at Risk. Status of Forest, Wildlife, and related Threats on the Island of Borneo |publisher=WWF Germany |place=Frankfurt am Main |url=http://assets.panda.org/downloads/treasureislandatrisk.pdf}}</ref>
Less than 6% of Indonesia's and Malaysia's land region is protected.<ref name=Wearn_al2014/>

[[Poaching]] for the [[wildlife trade#Illegal wildlife trade|illegal wildlife trade]] also poses a significant threat. Bay cats have been captured in the wild for the trade as pets and skins.<ref name=iucn/>

==Conservation==
The bay cat is listed on [[CITES 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.<ref name=iucn/><ref name=Sastramidjaja_al2013/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Pardofelis badia}}
{{Wikispecies|Pardofelis badia}}
*{{cite web |title=Bornean Bay Cat |publisher=IUCN Cat Specialist Group |url=http://www.catsg.org/index.php?id=118 |access-date=2014-12-16 |archive-date=2019-03-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325163416/http://www.catsg.org/index.php%3Fid%3D118 }}
*{{cite news |title=The Bay Cat: Jungle Creature That Eluded Scientists Finally Caught On Film |publisher=Animals Guide |author=Atwood, A. |url=https://animalsguide.com/explore/borneo-bay-cat/}}
*{{cite web |title=In images: The rare Bay Cat of Borneo |publisher=Live Science |date=2014 |url=http://www.livescience.com/42762-images-bay-cat-borneo.html}}
{{Spoken Wikipedia|date=2022-07-10|en-Bay_Cat-article.oga}}

{{Carnivora|Fe.}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q213044}}

[[Category:Endemic fauna of Borneo]]
[[Category:Carnivorans of Borneo]]
[[Category:Mammals of Indonesia]]
[[Category:Carnivorans of Malaysia]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1874]]
[[Category:Taxa named by John Edward Gray]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Borneo montane rain forests]]
[[Category:Catopuma]]