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Journal of East African Natural History 101(1): 3–16 (2012)
IDENTIFICATION, DISTRIBUTION AND CONSERVATION STATUS OF THE AFRICAN GOLDEN CAT CARACAL AURATA IN KENYA
Thomas M. Butynski Eastern Africa Primate Diversity and Conservation Program
P.O. Box 149, 10400 Nanyuki, Kenya [email protected]
Helen Douglas-Dufresne
Milgis Trust, P.O. Box 93, 10105 Naro Moru, Kenya [email protected]
Yvonne A. de Jong
Eastern Africa Primate Diversity and Conservation Program P.O. Box 149, 10400 Nanyuki, Kenya
ABSTRACT The African golden cat Caracal aurata is Africa’s least known felid. This paper describes how C. aurata can be most readily identified in the field and reviews what is known about this species’ distribution and conservation status in Kenya. Forty-six records for C. aurata from 38 sites were compiled. The Mau Forest is the only site in Kenya from which specimens of C. aurata have been obtained and remain available. Most of the records are for the four largest highland forests (Mount Elgon, Mau Forest, Aberdares Range, Mount Kenya). Other sites include Olorgesailie, Shompole Swamp, Pelewa Hills, Kaja, Tsavo West National Park, Tsavo East National Park, Maunga Hills, and Arabuko-Sokoke Forest. The distribution of C. aurata in Kenya remains poorly known. There can be little doubt that C. aurata is one of Kenya’s rarest mammals and that its population is now highly fragmented. An open-access database (‘GoldenCatBase’) has been established to help bring more attention to C.aurata in Kenya and to aid in the compilation of information on its distribution and conservation status. Keywords: African golden cat, Caracal aurata, conservation, distribution, identification, Kenya.
INTRODUCTION Although the African golden cat Caracal aurata (Temminck, 1827) (figure 1) has a large geographic range in the forest zone of Equatorial Africa, it is Africa’s least studied felid (Brodie, 2009). Indeed, observations of C. aurata in the wild are rare. Previously placed in the genus Felis or genus Profelis (Ray & Butynski, in press), a
4 T.M. Butynski, H. Douglas-Dufresne & Y.A. de Jong
recent molecular study indicates that the African golden cat is congeneric with the caracal C. caracal (Schreber, 1776) and serval C. serval (Schreber, 1776). Divergence time from the common ancestor with C. caracal is estimated at 1.9 million years (Johnson et al., 2006).
Figure 1. Reddish-brown or ‘golden’ phase of the eastern subspecies of the African golden cat Caracal aurata aurata. This is the most common colour phase for C. aurata reported for Kenya. Drawing by Stephan Nash.
Caracal aurata is known to occur from Senegal eastwards across equatorial Africa to south-western Kenya. There are no records for Tanzania (Kingdon, 1977; Ray & Butynski, in press). Two subspecies are currently recognized. Caracal a. celidogaster (Temminck, 1827) is the West Africa subspecies, occurring west of the Cross River on the Nigeria-Cameroon border; the spotting is usually all over the body, there is a dark mid-line along the back, and the tail is banded (either distinctly or indistinctly). Caracal a. aurata is the eastern Africa subspecies, occurring east of the Congo River; there is no spotting except on the flanks and belly, the dark mid-dorsal line is absent or faint, and the tail is either not banded or indistinctly banded. East of the Cross River and west of the Congo River there is a large intermediate or clinal zone (Van Mensch & van Bree, 1969).
This paper is concerned with the identification, distribution and conservation status of C. aurata in Kenya. The main objectives of this paper are (1) to draw attention to the existence of this species while facilitating more rapid and accurate identification in the field, (2) to put into one place all of the reported records for C. aurata in Kenya, and (3) to provide, based on the reported records, a preliminary map of the distribution of C. aurata in Kenya.
African golden cat in Kenya 5
METHODS The information presented here on C. aurata was obtained primarily through (1) a detailed review of the literature; (2) examination of museum collections, photographs and videos; and (3) correspondence over the past two decades with many of Kenya’s most experienced naturalists and others. In search of reports of encounters with C. aurata, the authors directly contacted more than 50 people. About 550 additional people were contacted by posting the request for information on two popular websites (groups.yahoo.com/group/kenyabirdsnet/ and groups.yahoo.com/group/tanzaniabirds/).
Most of the sight records were obtained by experienced naturalists, very few of whom had any doubt that what they observed was C. aurata. No attempt was made to validate or otherwise ‘judge’ any of the sight records. Some observers reported encountering C. aurata at the same site on more than one occasion. IDENTIFICATION Caracal aurata is a medium-size, strongly built cat with a small, round head, short, rounded, black-backed ears, and a medium length, black-tipped, tail (figure 1). Adult females are, on average, about 65% the weight of adult males (ca. 7 kg vs. 11 kg). The colour of the pelage is very variable; colour morphs include pale sandy, reddish-brown, chestnut-red, chocolate-brown, greyish-brown, silver-grey, bluish-grey, and jet-black (melanistic). Dark grey to dark brown spots are nearly always visible on the belly and inside limbs. Elsewhere the spotting ranges from absent to densely covering the entire body. Spots vary from large and distinct circles or rosettes, to small and obscure freckles (Van Mensch & van Bree, 1969; Ray & Butynski, in press).
Most observations of C. aurata in the wild last for but a few seconds and are usually made under less than ideal conditions; light is often poor and vegetation is usually dense. While C. aurata may be active at any time of the day or night, most observations are within a few hours after dawn or within a few hours before dusk. The impression of the senior author, based on several encounters with C. aurata in south-western Uganda, is that this species is particularly active during the grey period soon after mid- and late-afternoon rains.
Almost all observations of C. aurata are of animals on the ground, often in forest in the vicinity of water (especially streams and rivers) and along dirt roads that pass through, or next to, forest. People encountering C. aurata in the wild for the first time are often confused as to the identity of the species they are observing. This is mainly because few people know of the existence of C. aurata. In addition, those who are aware of this species do not know what the diagnostic characters are, and, therefore, fail to note these characters during what is usually a brief encounter. As such, we here provide a summary of how to quickly, and unambiguously, distinguish adult C. aurata from adults of the other six species of felid of tropical Africa.
Body size readily distinguishes C. aurata (adult body weight = 6–14 kg) from adults of the three largest of Africa’s felids; leopard Panthera pardus (Linnaeus, 1758) (28–60 kg), cheetah Acinonyx jubatus (Schreber, 1775) (35–65 kg), and lion Panthera leo (Linnaeus, 1758) (122–182 kg). In addition, all three of these species have tails that are long relative to the head-body length. Of these three species, it is only with P. pardus that C. aurata is broadly sympatric. A small, melanistic, P. pardus can be distinguished from a melanistic C. aurata by its proportionately much longer tail that trails well behind the body. The tail of P. pardus is >60% the length of the head-body vs. <45% for C. aurata (see below).
6 T.M. Butynski, H. Douglas-Dufresne & Y.A. de Jong
There is greater potential for misidentification in the field between adult C. aurata and adults of the other three felids of tropical Africa; wild cat Felis sylvestris Schreber, 1777 (adult body weight = 3–6 kg), C. serval (9–14 kg), and C. caracal (8–19 kg). Confusion with C. caracal is particularly likely and is suspected to be frequent. These three species are narrowly sympatric with C. aurata at some sites, especially along the edge of gallery forest and riverine forest, and in woodlands. The pattern, colour, size, and shape of the ears (figure 2), and the pattern, colour, and carriage of the tail (figure 3), are the best traits for distinguishing among these four felids in the field.
D B CA
Figure 2. Pattern, colour, relative size, and shape of the back of the ears can be used to distinguish among the (A) African golden cat Caracal aurata, (B) wild cat Felis sylvestris, (C) caracal Caracal caracal, and (D) serval Caracal serval. Drawn to scale. See text for details. Drawing by Stephan Nash.
DA B C
Figure 3. Pattern, colour, relative length, and carriage of the tail can be used to distinguish among the (A) African golden cat Caracal aurata, (B) wild cat Felis sylvestris, (C) caracal Caracal caracal, and (D) serval Caracal serval. Drawn to scale. See text for details. Drawing by Stephan Nash. The ears of C. aurata (figure 2A) are short (ca. 53 mm long) and solid black on the back-side. As demonstrated in figure 2, the ears of the other three species differ from the ears of C. aurata as follows:
Felis sylvestris (figure 2B): medium-size (ca. 66 mm long); back-side rusty-brown with blackish tip. Caracal caracal (figure 2C): triangular, rather large (ca. 80 mm long), blackish, with long (ca. 50 mm) blackish tuft on the tip. Caracal serval (figure 2D): very large (ca. 89 mm long); back-side with broad white horizontal band.
African golden cat in Kenya 7
Mean tail length for C. aurata, F. sylvestris, C. serval, and C. caracal is similar at about
30 cm, 30 cm, 30 cm, and 27 cm, respectively. Tail length relative to head-body length, although sometimes referred to as a diagnostic character (e.g. Dorst & Dandelot, 1970; Boy, 2003), does not differ ‘noticeably’ in the field among C. aurata, C. serval and C. caracal, being about 42%, 37%, and 37% of the head-body length, respectively. The tail of F. sylvestris is noticeably relatively longer at roughly 55% the head-body length. Note that the tail of C. aurata is not nearly as long as depicted in Dorst & Dandelot (1970).
The tail of C. aurata is black-tipped, and, in C. a. aurata, either not banded or with indistinct bands (figure 3A). When C. aurata is standing, the tip of the tail curves away from the body with the lowest part of the tail reaching the level of the hocks. The tail is, typically, not carried as depicted in Haltenorth & Diller (1980) or in Kingdon (1977, 1997). The tails of the other three species differ from the tail of C. aurata as follows (figure 3):
Felis sylvestris (figure 3B): distinctly banded grey and black (3–4 black bands), and held out well behind the body when the cat is standing. Caracal caracal (figure 3C): sandy-red to golden-red throughout (i.e. tip not black or only slightly so), and dangles nearly straight downwards when the cat is standing, not reaching the hocks. Caracal serval (figure 3D): distinctly banded black and beige/dirty-yellow, and dangles nearly straight downwards when the cat is standing, not reaching the hocks. To expand on the above, although absolute tail length does not differ much among
C. aurata, C. serval and C. caracal, the fact that the legs of C. aurata are shorter than those of C. caracal and, especially, C. serval, means that the tail of C. aurata, if held straight downwards, almost reaches the feet. Since C. aurata typically carries its tail so that the tip is curved away from the body, what is observed in the field is a tail that reaches the level of the hocks. In contrast, when standing, the tail of C. serval and C. caracal hangs nearly straight downwards and ends a few centimetres short of the hocks.
Melanistic (all black) individuals are known for all four species and C. caracal can be golden-red (Kingdon, 1977; Sunquist & Sunquist, 2009). These colour phases, in particular, can hamper identification. For these individuals, the best field characters are the size and shape of the ears, length of the tail relative to the hocks, whether the tail is held nearly straight down or curved backwards, and the overall body shape (e.g. are the legs short or long?). Melanistic C. aurata appear to be rare throughout the range of the species.
Comments by some observers imply that they believe that if the C. caracal-like cat that they observed had spots, then it ‘must’ be a C. aurata, particularly if the cat was in a high altitude, moist, site. This is not the case, as C. caracal can be distinctly spotted on the ventrum and inner legs, and present to >2400 m in some moist sites [e.g. at 2440 m in the montane forest/bush/glade mix that is common in the vicinity of The Ark on the Salient of the Aberdares (D. Gulden, pers. comm.) and to >2600 m on farmland on the northern slope of Mount Kenya (W. Knocker, pers. comm.)].
Study of the drawings and text presented in Kingdon (1977), in Sunquist & Sunquist (2009), and in this article, should serve as a good primer to identifying C. aurata in the field. Some of the best photographs of wild C. aurata are presented in Boy (2003), in Bahaa-el-din et al. (2011), and at ARKive (www.arkive.org). Excellent camera trap videos of wild C. aurata have been obtained by Laila Bahaa-el-din in Gabon. These can be viewed at: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/29/scientists-capture-rare-video-of-elusive-african-cat/. Be aware that many of the photographs of C. aurata that have been published (e.g. Boy, 2003; Sunquist & Sunquist, 2009), or which appear on the internet, are of obese, captive, individuals that may look considerably different from free-living individuals.
8 T.M. Butynski, H. Douglas-Dufresne & Y.A. de Jong
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Habitat Over its extensive geographic range, C. aurata occurs from 0–3600 m in a wide range of habitats: woodland, thicket, savannah/forest mosaic, coastal forest, riverine forest, gallery forest, swamp forest, lowland forest, mid-altitude forest, montane forest, subalpine forest, and moorland (Kingdon, 1977, Ray & Butynski, in press). More than any other African felid, C. aurata is associated with forest and with the edge of forest (e.g. river banks, glades). Mean annual rainfall over the known geographic range is about 1200–2400 mm (Ray & Butynski, in press). Colour phase Where the colour of the C. aurata that was encountered is not reported (table 1), it seems likely that the animal encountered was of the typical (expected) golden/reddish/tawny colour. Of the 33 sightings in Kenya where the colour phase was mentioned, 27 (82%) of the individuals were golden/reddish/tawny, five (15%) were grey, and one (3%) was melanistic. Other colour phases probably also occur in Kenya but have yet to be reported. Group size For Kenya, there are only six reports of more than one animal being observed during an encounter: Dent (Gandar Dower, 1937) observed a group of four on Mount Kenya in 1931; Hardy (1979) observed an adult with two young in the Aberdares in 1979; J. Fanshawe et al. (pers. comm.) observed two to the west of Arabuko-Sokoke in 1983. Virani (1993, pers. comm.), twice, observed an adult female with two kittens in Arabuko-Sokoke in 1992–93. M. Wheeler et al. (pers. comm.) observed two at Tassia in 2009. When the number of animals encountered is not mentioned in a report, it seems fairly safe to assume that only one individual was observed. If this assumption is made, then about 87% of the 46 encounters were with single C. aurata. Distribution in Kenya There are only three reports for C. aurata in Kenya that are based on ‘animals in the hand’ (table 1, figure 4). The only record for C. aurata in Kenya that can be confirmed at this time by a specimen is that of A. Toschi who obtained two skins from Ogiek tribesman in the Mau Forest in early 1946 (Toschi, 1946; Boy, 2003). One of these specimens is, today, in the Mammalogy Section of the Zoology Department at the National Museums of Kenya. The present location of the other specimen is not known. In 1955, Parker (2004) recovered a jacket made of animal skins from a Mau Mau fighter in the Aberdares. One of the skins was identified at the Coryndon Museum (now the National Museums of Kenya) as that of a C. aurata. The whereabouts of this skin at this time is not known. Ken Brown (pers. comm.) reports finding a C. aurata in a snare in 1974 at Kadja, near Mutha, Ukambani Area. This individual was not collected and no photograph was taken.
The oldest published ‘sight record’ for C. aurata in Kenya is by R.E. Dent (Gandar Dower, 1937; Boy, 2003) of four animals in 1931 at the headwaters of the Kathita River, above Meru, north-eastern Mount Kenya (table 1, figure 4). The distribution map for C. aurata that is presented in Boy (2003) depicts 16 sites for Kenya, one of which derives from specimens (Toschi, 1946), while the other 15 are based on sight records. Here we report on 46 records for C. aurata in Kenya, all but three (6%) of which are ‘sight only’ records (see above). There is no photograph or video of a live C. aurata in Kenya.
African golden cat in Kenya 9
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African golden cat in Kenya 11
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African golden cat in Kenya 13
Figure 4. The 38 sites in Kenya where the African golden cat Caracal aurata has been reported. See table 1 for the details related to each site number.
The majority of records for C. aurata in Kenya are for the four largest highland forests; Mount Elgon and Mau Forest in south-western Kenya, and Aberdares Range and Mount Kenya in central Kenya. Seven sites for Kenya are of particular interest; Olorgesailie, Shompole Swamp, Pelewa Hills, Tsavo West National Park, Tsavo East National Park, Maunga Hills, and Arabuko-Sokoke Forest. If valid, these records greatly extend the range of C. aurata; Shompole Swamp is ca. 190 km south-east of the centre of the Mau Forest, and Arabuko-Sokoke is ca. 200 km south-east of Mutha. Furthermore, all of these sites put C. aurata into drier habitats than previously reported for anywhere over the species’ range (1200-2400 mm mean annual rainfall); mean annual rainfall for Arabuko-Sokoko is ca. 1000 mm and mean annual rainfall for the Olorgesailie-Shompole area is ca. 500 mm. At Tsavo East National Park and in the Olorgesailie-Shompole region, the sightings were in dry ‘riverine scrub’, and at Maunga Hills the sightings were in ‘thick commiphora woodland’, two habitats not previously reported to be used by C. aurata. In West Africa and in west Central Africa, C. aurata occurs in forest at sea level (Ray & Butynski, in press). Thus, it should not be too surprising to find this species in the coastal forests of East Africa, although the coastal forests of East Africa are considerably drier than those of western Africa. In any case, there is no confirmed record (e.g. specimen, photograph, video) for the occurrence of C. aurata where the mean annual rainfall is <1200 mm. This is the case despite extensive field research, tourism, and camera trapping in several forests in Kenya where rainfall is <1200 mm (e.g. Arabuko-Sokoke, lower Tana River, Witu, Boni-Dodori).
14 T.M. Butynski, H. Douglas-Dufresne & Y.A. de Jong
There are no records for C. aurata in either Kakamega Forest or Nandi Forest. This is unexpected, given that both forests are (or where until recently) large, and both are located near sites where C. aurata is reported to occur (i.e. Mount Elgon) or is known to occur (i.e. Mau Forest).
In summary, the geographic range of C. aurata in Kenya remains poorly known. The records presented in table 1 ‘suggest’ that this species is widespread in the highland forests of south-western and central Kenya and that the range extends southwards down the Eastern Rift Valley to Shompole Swamp near the border with Tanzania and eastwards down the Athi-Galana-Sabaki River to Arabuko-Sokoke Forest on the Kenya coast. Given, however, that only two specimen of C. aurata have ever been obtained from Kenya (66 years ago), and that there are no photographs or videos for C. aurata in Kenya, hard evidence for presence of C. aurata is required for all sites listed in table 1. This validation may come with time, particularly through the use of camera traps. CONSERVATION The current degree of threat category for C. aurata is ‘Near Threatened’ (IUCN, 2012). Caracal aurata is listed on CITES Appendix II (CITES, 2012). There has been a rapid decline of Africa’s tropical forests and woodlands over the past 100 years (Sayer, 1992; Butynski, 2001) and, with this, the loss of habitat for C. aurata. In many of the forests and woodlands that remain, the prey species of C. aurata (e.g. francolins Francolinus spp., Guineafowls Guttera spp., duikers Cephalophus spp. and Philantomba spp.) have been severely reduced or extirpated (Ray & Butynski, in press). As such, it is likely that the geographic range, area of occupancy, and abundance of C. aurata have also steadily declined. This is probably particularly the case in Kenya were the human population has grown extremely rapidly. One result of this is that many natural resources (e.g. wood products, forest land, bushmeat) are being heavily and unsustainably exploited over much of the country. This is having acute negative impacts on many, if not all, of Kenya’s forest-dependent species (Wass, 1995; World Resources Institute, 2007).
The low number of reports for C. aurata suggests that this species is at very low densities throughout its geographic range in Kenya. The most important sites for the long-term conservation of C. aurata in Kenya are probably the country’s largest highland forests; Mount Elgon, Mau Forest, Aberdares Range, and Mount Kenya. All four forests have been greatly degraded, fragmented and reduced over the past 100 years. While this process continues for the Mau Forest, much of what remains of Mount Elgon, Aberdares Range and Mount Kenya is, at this time, fairly well protected within forest reserves and national parks.
Little is known about the ecology, behaviour, habitat requirements, or present abundance and distribution of C. aurata. While field studies of the ecology and behaviour of this species are now underway in Gabon and Uganda, there is no such research in Kenya. Such a study, at the eastern edge of the species’ geographic range, would be particularly informative and interesting. The Salient of the Aberdares might be an excellent site for such a study. The Aberdares are of particular interest as concerns felid conservation and research as there must be few other sites in the world where six species of felids are sympatric: F. sylvestris, C. aurata, C. caracal, C. serval, P. pardus and P. leo, three of which are in the genus Caracal (Butynski, 1999). As such, the Aberdares may represent not only a suitable site for the study of C. aurata, but a unique site for the study of felid community ecology.
Those who encounter C. aurata, either live or dead animals, should take full advantage of that rare opportunity and collect as much information as possible. At a minimum, the kinds
African golden cat in Kenya 15
of data presented in table 1 should be collected. If a specimen is obtained, it should be deposited with the Mammalogy Section, Zoology Department, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi.
As an aid to better understanding the distribution and conservation status of C. aurata in Kenya, and for long-term monitoring of this species in Kenya, we have established a database (‘GoldenCatBase’; www.wildsolutions.nl). GoldenCatBase summarizes the records for C. aurata in Kenya. Anyone with an interest in C. aurata can refer to this ‘living resource’ and provide details of their observations, comments, references, photographs, videos, and other information. GoldenCatBase is a practical tool for documenting and discussing C. aurata distribution, ecology, behaviour and conservation status and, therefore, for developing and implementing conservation actions.
We would appreciated learning more about any encounters that you, your colleagues, or your camera traps have with C. aurata. We can help ensure that any information that you obtain is entered into GoldenCatBase. Contact: Yvonne A. de Jong, P.O. Box 149, Nanyuki 10400, Kenya. E-mail: [email protected] ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We are extremely grateful to the following people for providing unpublished data that are cited in this paper: Gary Allport, Tony Archer, Joffy Bastard, Andrew Bowkett, Jon Bowler, Gordon Boy, Ken Brown, Colin Church, John Fanshawe, Antonia Hall, Morten Kattenhøj, Martin Kelsey, Kieran Avery, Sean Avery, Jane Macleod, Sarah Ellen Mamlin, Dino Martins, Christopher Murray, Martin Nielson, Martin Otieno, Ian Parker, Anne Rasa, Steve Turner, Rupert Watson, Robert Wells, Charlie Wheeler, Martin Wheeler, Munir Virani, and Truman Young. We thank the many life-long or long-term residents of Kenya who responded to our request for information on C. aurata—if only to say that they had never encountered this species in Kenya. Lorna Depew, Gordon Boy, Simon Thomsett, and one anonymous reviewer were particularly helpful with comments and advice during the preparation of the manuscript. Stephen Nash is acknowledged for the four drawings that he contributed to this article, including the cover drawing for this issue of Journal of East African Natural History. REFERENCES Anonymous (1996). Sightings of golden cat Felis aurata in the Aberdares. East Africa
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ISSN 0012-8317
Journal of East African Natural History
Volume 101 Part 1 2012
A Journal of Biodiversity
