Flat-headed cat not seen in Thailand for almost 30 years is rediscovered
Researchers have photographed a rare cat in Thailand that hasn’t been seen in the country for almost 30 years – and it’s adorable.
Flat-headed cats (Prionailurus planiceps), named for their flattened foreheads, live in fragmented pockets across Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia, but were feared to have gone extinct in Thailand.
Researchers rediscovered the cats using remote camera traps in Thailand’s Princess Sirindhorn Wildlife Reserve in 2024 and 2025 – the first detections in Thailand since 1995. Cat conservation organization Panthera announced the rediscovery on Friday (December 26), which is also Thailand’s annual Wildlife Protection Day.
“For decades the flat-headed cat was classified as ‘probably extinct’, but after years of sustained protection, strong scientific partnerships and community management, we can now celebrate its return to Thailand this National Wildlife Day.” Suchart ChomklinThailand’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environment said in a statement.
Flat-headed cats have webbed feet to traverse moist habitats, such as waterlogged bog and swamp forests, where the species is thought to primarily hunt fish. However, researchers know very little about their lives. This enigmatic cat is the smallest in Southeast Asia, weighing approximately 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms) – less than a domestic cat – and is barely seen by humans.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) last review of the species, carried out in 2014, concluded that flat-headed cats were endangered. They are primarily threatened by the loss and degradation of their wetlands and lowland forests, as well as other human pressures such as overfishing and hunting.
Researchers searched for the cats in remote areas of Thailand in what Panthera described as “the largest ever study of the species.” This work is part of a new IUCN assessment of flat-headed cats led by Panthera, which Panthera plans to publish in early 2026.
Camera traps photographed several flat-headed cats, including a female with a cub, demonstrating that they not only live in southern Thailand, but also breed in the region.
“The rediscovery of the flat-headed cat in southern Thailand is a significant victory for conservation in Thailand and the broader Southeast Asian region where the species still occurs,” Atthapol Charoenchansa, director general of Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, said in the statement.
