Bay Cat
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Felidae
Genus:	Pardofelis
Species:	P. badia
Binomial name
Pardofelis badia[1] (Gray, 1874)
Blue dots indicate bay cat records from 2003 to 2005.[2]
Synonyms
Catopuma badia

The bay cat (Pardofelis badia), also known as the Bornean cat, Bornean bay cat, or Bornean marbled cat, is a wild cat endemic to the island of Borneo that appears relatively rare compared to sympatric felids, based on the paucity of historical as well as recent records. In 2002, the IUCN classified the forest-dependent species as endangered because of a projected population decline by more than 20% by 2020 due to habitat loss. As of 2007, the effective population size was suspected to be below 2,500 mature individuals.^[1]

Bay cats have historically been recorded as rare and today seem to occur at relatively low density, even in pristine habitat.^[3]

Characteristics[link]

Illustration of a bay cat^[4]

The bay cat is much smaller than the Asian golden cat. Its fur is of a bright chestnut-colour, rather paler beneath, the limbs and the tail being rather paler and redder. The tail is elongate, tapering at the end, with a white central streak occupying the hinder 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. The ears are rounded, covered with a short blackish-brown fur at the outer side, paler brown within and with a narrow brown margin.^[4]

In the years between 1874 to 2004, only 12 specimens were measured. Their head-to-body length varied from 49.5–67 cm (19.5–26 in) with 30–40.3 cm (12–15.9 in) long tails.^[2] It is estimated to have an adult weight of 3–4 kg (6.6–8.8 lb), but too few living specimens have been obtained to allow a more reliable estimate.^[5]

The 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, lacking the central white spots found on many other cat species. The underside of the chin is white and there are two faint brown stripes on the cheeks. Body proportions and the extremely long tail give it the look of the new world jaguarundi.^[6]

Distribution and habitat[link]

Bay cats are endemic to Borneo and widely distributed on the island. But there are two concentrations of reports in the island's interior. The information suggests that they occur over a wide range of habitat types, varying from swamp forests, lowland dipterocarp forest to hill forests up to at least 500 m (1,600 ft). In the mid 1990s, the most reliable sightings have been reported from the upper Kapuas River in West Kalimantan, and in the Gunung Palung National Park.^[7] One unconfirmed sighting occurred at 1,800 m (5,900 ft) on Mount Kinabalu.^[8]

They inhabit dense tropical forests, and have been observed in rocky limestone outcrops and in logged forest, and some close to the coast. At least three specimens were found near rivers, but this is probably due to collector convenience rather than evidence of habitat preference. From 2003 to 2005, 15 bay cats were recorded in Kalimantan, Sabah and Sarawak but not in Brunei. These records consist of single opportunistic observations. Almost all the historical and recent records are from close proximity to water bodies such as rivers and mangroves, suggesting that the bay cat may be closely associated with such habitat.^[2]

A Camera trapping survey from July 2008 to January 2009 in the northwestern part of Sabah's Deramakot Forest Reserve in an area of about 112 km² (43 sq mi) yielded one photo of a male bay cat in a total sampling effort of 1916 trap nights. This record expands the range of bay cats to the north.^[9]

Alfred Russel Wallace sent the first skin and skull of a bay cat from Sarawak to the British Museum of Natural History in 1855.^[4] A total of seven skins surfaced over the following decades, but not until 1992 was a living specimen trapped on the Sarawak – Indonesian border and brought to the Sarawak Museum, on the verge of death.^[5]

Ecology and behavior[link]

The secretive and nocturnal behavior of bay cats, and possibly their low population density, may be an important cause of the rarity of sightings.^[7]

Camera trapping surveys during 2003–2006 yielded only one photo of a bay cat in 5,034 trap nights. According to unconfirmed anecdotal records from Sarawak, a bay cat was observed on a branch 1 m (3.3 ft) from the ground close to the river during a night hunting expedition. A local animal collector near Lachau, Sarawak, claimed that he accidentally trapped two bay cats on separate occasions in December 2003. He reported that the bay cats entered his aviary and attacked his pheasants. One cat died in captivity, and the other was released.^[2]

Nothing is known about their feeding ecology and reproductive behavior.^[6][9][10]

Threats[link]

Satellite photo of Borneo showing smoke from burning peat swamp forests

Bay cats are forest-dependent, and are increasingly threatened by habitat destruction following deforestation in Borneo.^[1]

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. Illegal trade in wildlife is a widely spread practice.^[11]

Although Borneo has 25 wildlife reserves, only three are actually in existence, with the others only proposed. All of these reserves have been encroached upon by human settlement and logging. Unfortunately local trappers and animal dealers are also well aware that foreign zoos and breeding facilities will pay US $10,000 or more for a live animal.^{[citation needed]}

Conservation[link]

Pardofelis badia is listed on CITES Appendix II as Catopuma badia. It is fully protected by national legislation across most of its range. Hunting and trade are prohibited in Kalimantan, Sabah and Sarawak.^[1]

There are no bay cats in captivity.^[6]

Taxonomy and evolution[link]

In 1874, John Edward Gray first described a bay cat under the binominal Felis badia on the basis of a skin and skull collected in Sarawak in 1856. This cat was first thought to be a kitten of an Asian golden cat.^[4] In 1932, Reginald Innes Pocock placed the species in the monotypic genus Badiofelis.^[12] In 1978, it was placed in the genus Catopuma.^[13]

Tissue and blood samples were acquired only in late 1992 from the female brought to the Sarawak Museum.^[5] 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 geological separation of Borneo from mainland Asia.^[14]

The bay cat's classification as Catopuma was widely recognized until 2006.^[15] Because of the evident close relationship of the bay cat and the Asian golden cat with the marbled cat, it was suggested in 2006 that all three species should be grouped in the genus Pardofelis.^[16]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pardofelis badia

Wikispecies has information related to: Pardofelis badia

• IUCN Cat Specialist Group: Bornean Bay Cat
• Indian Tiger Welfare Society
• BBC 2008: Bay cat, Bornean red cat, Bornean marbled cat

The bay at San Sebastián, Spain

The Bay of Bengal in South Asia

The bay of Baracoa, Cuba

The bay of İzmir, in Turkey

A bay is a large body of water connected to an ocean or sea formed by an inlet of land due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds.^[1] Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight. A cove is a circular or oval coastal inlet with a narrow entrance; some coves may be referred to as bays.

Bays were significant in the history of human settlement because they can provide a safe place for fishing. Later they were important in the development of sea trade as the safe anchorage they provide encouraged their selection as ports.^[2] Any bay may contain fish and other sea creatures or be adjacent to other bays. For example, James Bay is adjacent to Hudson Bay. Large bays, such as the Bay of Bengal and the Hudson Bay, have varied marine geology.

Formation[link]

There are various ways that bays can be created. The largest bays have developed as a result of continental drift.^[2] As the super-continent Gondwana broke up along curved and indented fault lines, the continents moved apart and the world's largest bays formed. These include the Gulf of Guinea, Persian Gulf, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Mexico and the Bay of Bengal which is the largest bay in the world.^[2]

Another way bays are formed is via glacial and river erosion.^[2] If formed by glaciers a bay is known as a fjord. Rias are created by rivers and are characterised by more gradual slopes. Most gulf and bays are formed by the folding of the earth's crust as well as coastal erosion due to waves and currents.^[2] Currents can make waves more constant, while soft rocks will allow erosion to have a stronger effect. Any hard rock is eroded less quickly, leaving headlands. The Gulf of California is an example of a bay created by the geological process of folding.

See also[link]

• Bay platform
• Great capes
• Headlands and bays

References[link]

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