New Species of Cat Discovered in Indonesia

By Deborah Lambeth

In the past decade, researchers have found more than 360 new species on Kalimantan, the world’s second largest island. The island, which is shared by Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei, is made up of a tremendous outspread of jungles and wilderness rich in natural resources such as timber, gas, oil, and coal. Kalimantan, formerly known as Borneo, is home to some of the most diverse wildlife on Earth, but its forests are being threatened by the increasing demands for rubber and palm oil.

The World Wildlife Fund has camera traps set up strategically throughout the island to document the huge variety of animal species inhabiting the island. A camera trap is an everyday camera armed with infrared sensors that cause the camera to take pictures whenever they sense movement in the forest, and one of those traps recently made a startling discovery. A catlike creature was photographed on two separate occasions in the Kayan Mentarang National Park. Stephan Wulffraat, a Dutch biologist researching the species, said that his group has consulted several Bornean wildlife experts for opinions about what the creature might be. "Some thought it looked like a lemur, but most were convinced it was a new species of carnivore," Wulffraat said. "Until we have a live specimen on our hands, we can’t be 100% sure. Now, I’m only 90% sure."

The animal is slightly larger than a domestic cat, with dark red fur and a long bushy tail. The creature could be a new species of a marten or civet cat, which looks like a cross between a cat and a fox, or it could be an entirely new species of carnivore. The WWF is calling the animal the Red Bornean carnivore until an exact determination can be made about it. Researchers from the WWF will set up cage traps in the new few months in hopes of trapping a live specimen. It is extremely rare to discover a new mammal species of this size, and a new carnivore species hasn’t been discovered on the island since 1895 when the Borneo ferret-badger was found.

The national park where the carnivore was photographed is located in the Heart of Borneo, a mountainous region of rainforests. The area is being threatened by the proposed construction of the world’s largest oil plantation, which was announced in July of this year. Funded by the China Development Bank, the creation of the plantation would require clearing nearly 7,000 square miles—an area larger than the size of Connecticut. The WWF’s mission in Kalimantan, called the Heart of Borneo Initiative, aims to assist the three nations that own the island to conserve more than 85,000 square miles of rainforest in the area. "This discovery highlights the urgent need to conserve the unique forests in the Heart of Borneo. This creature - whatever it is - hasn't been seen since the pictures were taken, so it likely occurs in very low numbers," said Ginette Hemley, Vice President for Species Conservation. So this animal that may be an entirely new species may remain a mystery forever if its habitat is not protected.