Social interaction and co-occurrence of colour morphs of the Asiatic golden cat, Bhutan

Abstract

During a short camera trapping survey along an altitudinal gradient in central Bhutan, we detected two colour morphs of the Asiatic golden cat 'Catopuma temminckii' socially interacting in the same photo frames. A series of camera trap photos showed an individual of the typical golden morph and another of the considerably rarer spotted or 'ocelot' morph appear at a camera, before a brief bout of 'play fighting'. This is the first time that we are aware of these two colour morphs detected together as a social grouping. During the same survey, we also recorded the grey and black morphs of the Asiatic golden cat, further revealing for the first time that these four colour morphs co-occur at the same locality. Additionally, our data also support previous work that suggested diurnal/crepuscular activity patterns for Asiatic golden cats in Bhutan.