African Golden Cat: Rare Footage Of Animal Recorded (VIDEO)
One of Africa's "most elusive" animals has been recorded by scientists, and shared in what may be the only publicly released video, according to CNN.
The African golden cat is extremely reclusive in nature, and thus little is known about its behavior, other than that it feeds mainly on rodents, and is nocturnal.
The footage, which was recorded by a motion-activated camera, could be used along with photos to better understand the species.
Laila Bahaa-el-din, a graduate student leading the study, told CNN what it was like to see the footage for the first time:
"I don't think I can put (capturing the video) into words. I live and dream golden cats most days. To get back to camp and put the (footage) on the computer and have this cat basically posing for the camera, it's incredible. I watched it five times in a row and pretty much didn't sleep that night."
According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the African Golden Cat is "listed as Near Threatened as it seems reasonable to believe that the species could have declined on the order of 20% over the course of the last 15 years across its range, due mainly to the impact of habitat loss, hunting and loss of prey base."
In Feburary, scientists used a similar camera to captured footage of four of the world's rarest rhinoceroses in Indonesia.
One of the world's most endangered species, the Javan rhino population is estimated to consist of no more than 50 animals in the Ujung Kulon National Park.
A few weeks ago, endangered cats at the Florida Big Cats rescue had some much-deserved fun in the sun with some giant chew toys and tires.
For some more good news for cats, three adorable baby Asian fishing cats were born in a zoo in Ohio committed to protected endangered species.
To learn about supporting Panthera, the conservation group who funded most of the study, click here.
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The Huffington Post Laura Hibbard
First Posted: 08/30/11 07:54 PM ET Updated: 10/30/11 06:12 AM ET