Species comparison
Bay Cat vs African Golden Cat
A side-by-side look at Catopuma badia and Caracal aurata across body measurements, habitat, diet, behaviour and conservation status.
At a glance
- The african golden cat averages about 2.9 times the body mass of the bay cat.
- Both species use tropical rainforest and montane forest.
- Their ranges do not overlap: Bay Cat lives in Asia, African Golden Cat in Africa.
- Red List categories differ: Bay Cat is listed as Endangered, African Golden Cat as Vulnerable.
Identification
How each species is named and classified.
Bay Cat
Catopuma badia
African Golden Cat
Caracal aurata
Bay Cat
Catopuma
African Golden Cat
Caracal
Bay Cat
Bay cat lineage
African Golden Cat
Caracal lineage
Bay Cat
Small cats
African Golden Cat
Medium-sized cats
Bay Cat
Bornean bay cat, Bornean red cat
African Golden Cat
Golden cat
Body and movement
Published field measurements for adults. Ranges cover both sexes unless noted.
Bay Cat
19 in – 2 ft 2 in (49–67 cm)
African Golden Cat
2 ft – 3 ft 4 in (61–101 cm) Longer
Bay Cat
12 in – 16 in (30–40 cm) Longer
African Golden Cat
6 in – 18 in (16–46 cm)
Bay Cat
9 in – 12 in (24–30 cm)
African Golden Cat
15 in – 22 in (38–55 cm) Taller
Bay Cat
6.6–9.9 lb (3–4.5 kg)
Known from a handful of measured specimens.
African Golden Cat
12–35 lb (5.5–16 kg) Heavier
Based on a small number of measured specimens.
Bay Cat
Not reliably measured
No measurement exists.
African Golden Cat
Not reliably measured
No field measurement exists.
Life span
Typical adult longevity. Figures for managed care come from zoo and sanctuary records.
Bay Cat
8–12 years
African Golden Cat
10–12 years Longer
Bay Cat
12–14 years
African Golden Cat
12–15 years Longer
Habitat and range
Where each species lives and the conditions it tolerates.
Bay Cat
tropical rainforest, montane forest
Dense forest from lowland dipterocarp stands to hill and montane forest, including limestone terrain and swamp forest edge.
African Golden Cat
tropical rainforest, montane forest
Moist tropical forest, bamboo zones and montane forest up to about 11,500 feet; the species is strongly associated with dense, undisturbed canopy.
Bay Cat
Asia
Endemic to Borneo, with scattered records from Malaysian, Indonesian and Bruneian parts of the island.
African Golden Cat
Africa
The rainforest belt of West and Central Africa, from Senegal and Guinea east through the Congo Basin to western Kenya and Uganda.
Diet and behaviour
Feeding ecology, social organisation and hunting technique.
Bay Cat
small mammals, birds, reptiles
Inferred rather than observed: rodents, birds, small primates and carrion are all thought to be taken.
African Golden Cat
small mammals, birds, primates, medium ungulates
Rodents, tree hyrax, duikers, monkeys and forest birds; there are documented cases of golden cats following monkey groups to catch animals disturbed from the canopy.
Bay Cat
Solitary
Essentially unstudied in the wild. Detection rates are so low that even basic density estimates carry wide uncertainty.
African Golden Cat
Solitary
Extremely secretive; density estimates rely almost entirely on camera-trap arrays, and even experienced field teams rarely see the animal directly.
Bay Cat
Cathemeral
The few camera-trap records span both day and night, with no clear pattern established.
African Golden Cat
Cathemeral
Camera-trap records show activity spread across day and night, with local variation that may reflect prey and disturbance.
Bay Cat
Presumed ground and low-canopy hunting
Direct observations of hunting have not been published; body form suggests a forest-floor generalist.
African Golden Cat
Ground stalk in dense forest
Hunts mainly on the forest floor, ambushing rodents and small ungulates in thick undergrowth.
Bay Cat
Strong
Body proportions indicate a competent climber, though most records come from the ground.
African Golden Cat
Strong
Capable in trees and recorded hunting hyrax in the canopy, though most hunting is terrestrial.
Bay Cat
Limited
No documented swimming behaviour.
African Golden Cat
Limited
No substantial record of swimming behaviour.
Conservation
Red List category, population direction and the pressures documented for each species.
Bay Cat
EN — Endangered
Assessed 2015
African Golden Cat
VU — Vulnerable
Assessed 2015
Bay Cat
Decreasing
African Golden Cat
Decreasing
Bay Cat
Logging and forest conversion, Oil-palm expansion, Snaring, Collection for private trade, Almost no baseline ecological data
Assessed as Endangered on the basis of a small, declining population and heavy loss of Bornean lowland forest to logging and plantation conversion.
African Golden Cat
Deforestation and logging, Bushmeat snaring, Prey depletion, Mining expansion, Very limited baseline data
Rainforest loss and the commercial bushmeat trade are the main pressures. The cat is caught in snares set for other animals and is also taken deliberately in some regions.
Notable traits
Details that do not fit neatly into a measurement table.
Bay Cat
- The first photographs of a living bay cat were obtained in the late 1990s, more than a century after the species was described.
- It occurs on one island only, the smallest range of any Asian cat.
- Two colour morphs are known: chestnut red and a rarer grey form.
African Golden Cat
- Colour morphs vary so widely that early naturalists described several separate species.
- It is the only forest-dwelling member of the caracal lineage.
- Much of what is known about its diet comes from analysis of scats collected on forest trails.
Sources used for this comparison
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Global assessment categories, population trends and documented threats.
- IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group Species accounts, distribution notes and Cat News reporting for every wild felid.
- Small Wild Cat Conservation Foundation Dedicated research and field reporting on the lesser-known felids.
- World Wildlife Fund Range descriptions, threat summaries and conservation programme reporting.
- Wildlife Conservation Society Field programmes, camera-trap surveys and population monitoring.
- Panthera Field research programmes and species profiles for big and small wild cats.