African golden cat

African golden cat
Conservation status
	; Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Felidae
Subfamily:	Felinae
Genus:	Caracal
Binomial name
	Caracal aurata;

The African golden cat (Caracal aurata) is a medium-sized cat. This cat was previously listed as Profelis aurata. It weighs about 28 kg (62 lb) on average. The underside of its chest and chin are normally light-colored. In rare cases, they are pure white. This cat is closely related to the caracal.^[1]

Its fur color can change over time. This is affected by its age and other factors. The head of an African golden cat has light spots around the eyes. In the 1960s, studies were done that showed that various colors of the African golden cat (red, brown, silver) were found in equal numbers in most areas of their habitats. Distinctive spots on the back of the cat are only found on cats in West Africa.

Normally, the habitat of the African golden cat is in the tropical rainforests found along the equator in Africa.

References[change | change source]

↑ Macdonald D.W. et al 2010, ed. (3 June 2010). "Phylogeny and evolution of cats (Felidae)". Biology and conservation of wild felids. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-923444-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: editors list (link)

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[werdelin-1] Macdonald D.W. et al 2010, ed. (3 June 2010). "Phylogeny and evolution of cats (Felidae)". Biology and conservation of wild felids. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-923444-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: editors list (link)

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