US EditionElusive wild cat last seen in 1995, feared extinct, rediscovered in Thailand
Remote cameras recorded 29 flat-headed cat sightings including a female with cub, confirming reproduction and suggesting a relatively high concentration in protected southern Thailand wetlands.
- Friday's announcement said Panthera Thailand confirmed flat-headed cats in Princess Sirindhorn Wildlife Sanctuary, the first sightings since 1995, with detections in 2024 and 2025.
- Conservation assessments note the International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies the flat-headed cat as Endangered and considered 'possibly extinct' in Thailand due to habitat loss, land conversion, agricultural expansion, and disease risks.
- Using fishing-cat study lessons, researchers used camera traps from Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation to capture footage of a female flat-headed cat with cub, showing reproduction.
- Panthera said the findings will feed into a Panthera-led International Union for Conservation of Nature assessment expected in early 2026, and Atthapol Charoenchansa, Director General of Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, called the rediscovery a significant conservation win urging expanded searches.
- The flat-headed cat is Southeast Asia's smallest wild cat, weighing around 4.4 pounds with webbed feet for wetland and peat-swamp forest habitats, but monitoring remains hard because individuals lack distinctive markings and favor nocturnal, inaccessible wetlands.
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der Standard DEThe flat-headed cat was thought to have died out in the Southeast Asian country – now more than two dozen specimens were sighted on wildlife cameras
What Would You Name This Cat?
When news broke this weekend that an elusive, endangered wildcat was spotted in Thailand for the first time in three decades, I rejoiced, obviously. What wonderful news that the flat-headed cat, which is estimated to have a wild population of just 2,500 in Southeast Asia, had not gone extinct in Thailand. The wildcat's presence was confirmed by remote camera traps, which recorded the cats 13 times in 2024 and 16 times in 2025, in the swampy peat…
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Pop NewsFlat-Headed Cats Seen in Thailand for the First Time in 30 Years, Having Been Thought Extinct
An endangered small wild cat native to Thailand’s wetlands has been sighted for the first time in 30 years, the country’s wildlife authorities have said. The flat-headed cat has long been feared extinct in the tropical kingdom, where it inhabits peatlands, mangrove forests, and marshes that are difficult to access. The last confirmed sighting was […] The post Flat-Headed Cats Seen in Thailand for the First Time in 30 Years, Having Been Thought E…
The flat-headed cat, one of the world's most threatened felines, has disappeared from radars for more than 30 years and has been found in southern Thailand. A glimmer of hope for a species on board
A flat-headed cat (Prionailurus planiceps), one of the rarest cats in Southeast Asia, re-registered in southern Thailand after three decades without confirmation.The finding occurred thanks to photos and videos obtained during 2024 and 2025 by cameras installed at Princess Sirindhorn Wildlife Sanctuary.The international organization Panthera announced the re-election on 26 December.The last official record in the country gave from 1995. Faced wi…
Flat-headed cat once seen as 'possibly extinct' seen for first time in years
The endangered flat-headed cat, once considered "possibly extinct," was recently rediscovered in Southern Thailand for the first time in three decades. Called "one of the world's rarest wild felines," the flat-headed cat's existence was confirmed with remote camera trap images. Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation (DNP) and Panthera Thailand, a global wild cat conservation organization announced the rediscove…
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