The black bay cat recorded by SFD.
A red bay cat.
KUCHING: Sarawak Forest Department researchers recently found the rare bay cat species ‘Pardofelis Badia’ in Lundu.
Sarawak Forest Department director Sapuan Ahmad said the team was led by lead researcher Dr Ahmad Ampeng, and similar findings had been recorded in Mulu National Park, Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary, Pulong Tau National Park and Anap Muput.
The research on this bay cat species formed part of the 5-year Heart of Borneo initiative.
These discoveries, Sapuan said, proved the population of this cat species is scattered across the state.
“By understanding the relations between these species and its habitat, the findings affirmed the vast richness of the state’s forests. At the same time, State Forestry will continue to work hard to add more Totally Protected Area to its list.”
Sapuan said the findings of the species opened up more research opportunities, especially in terms of physique and colour of the species.
He added that DNA tests needed to be done to differentiate the species, but such tests were hard to conduct.