"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 forests of the Princess Sirindhorn Wildlife Sanctuary."
"Sebastian Kennerknecht/Panthera As I read more, I learned that this cat was "[n]amed for its distinctive flattened forehead and elongated skull," according to a press release from the conservation group Panthera, which announced the cat's rediscovery. A flat forehead, perhaps. But the press release proceeded to share some of the flat-headed cat's other distinguishing traits, which include but are not limited to: weighing half as much as a housecat, having a short, tubular body with slender legs and a stubby tail, and sporting webbed toes."
Remote camera traps recorded flat-headed cats 13 times in 2024 and 16 times in 2025 in the swampy peat forests of the Princess Sirindhorn Wildlife Sanctuary in Thailand. The species retains an estimated wild population of about 2,500 across Southeast Asia. The name references a flattened forehead and elongated skull, but the cat also exhibits notable traits such as weighing roughly half a housecat, having a short tubular body, slender legs, a stubby tail, and webbed toes. Colleagues were polled privately via Slack direct messages to propose alternative, more descriptive names after viewing a photograph.
Read at Defector
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