“The endangered flat-headed cat has been spotted in Thailand for the first time in 30 years. Previously, scientists had suspected that the elusive feline was extinct in the country,” reports The Doomslayer. A news report explains,
The endangered flat-headed cat—one of the world’s rarest wild felines — has been rediscovered in southern Thailand for the first time in 29 years…The existence of the flat-headed cat was confirmed through remote camera trap images, marking the first detection in Thailand since 1995. Thirteen detections were made in 2024 and sixteen detections were made in southern Thailand’s Princess Sirindhorn Wildlife Sanctuary in 2025 as part of the largest-ever survey of the species.
Scientists were particularly encouraged to record a female flat-headed cat with her cub as part of the ecological study, confirming ongoing reproduction in the region…The rarity of such detections underscores the species’ elusive nature: its small size, limited numbers, and nocturnal behavior make it exceptionally difficult to observe. Its preferred habitats —tropical rainforests, swampy and peat-swamp forests, marshes, lakes, streams, and riverine forests — further complicate research efforts due to dense and inaccessible terrain.
With an estimated 2,500 adults remaining globally, the flat-headed cat is classified as Endangered.
The extinction rate is falling as fewer species are becoming extinct.
In 2023, a dog discovered a species of mole long thought to be extinct, De Winton’s golden mole.
A rare flightless grasshopper was recently found in Virginia, where such grasshoppers had not been seen for 79 years.
India has doubled its tiger population, even as its population and economy have grown rapidly.
The snow leopard population has doubled in Kazakhstan.
Snub-nosed monkeys are making a comeback in China.
Amur leopards are making a comeback in Russia’s Far East, growing five-fold in number.
