In a recent unique discovery, researchers have photographed the world’s rarest cat in Thailand, which has not been seen in the country for almost three decades.
Cat protection organization Panthera announced the rediscovery on Friday, December 26, 2025, during the annual Wildlife Protection Day in Thailand.
Flat-headed cats, Prionailurus planiceps, named for their flattened foreheads, live in fragmented areas in Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia, but have long been feared extinct in Thailand, reports AFP.
Conservation authorities and an NGO have said that an elusive wild cat, long feared extinct, has been rediscovered 30 years after the last recorded sighting.
The researchers looked for the cats in remote areas of Thailand in what Panthera described as the “largest ever study of the species.”
Researchers rediscovered the cats in 2024 and 2025 using remote camera traps at Thailand’s Princess Sirindhorn Wildlife Sanctuary – the first detections in Thailand since 1995.
About flat-headed cats
Flat-headed cats are among the rarest and most endangered wild cats in the world.
The fur on its head is orange-brown and has striking narrow, dark stripes behind and below the eye.
Their flanks are grey-brown, gray and lack spots or stripes, while the muzzle area, chin and chest are white.
Their range is limited to Southeast Asia and they are endangered due to declining habitat.
“The rediscovery is exciting, but at the same time worrying,” says veterinarian and researcher Kaset Sutasha of Kasetsart University, noting that habitat fragmentation has made the species increasingly “isolated.”
Thai veterinarian, academic and conservationist Professor Rattapan said the flat-headed cat typically lives in dense wetland ecosystems such as peat swamps and freshwater mangroves, environments that are extremely difficult for researchers to access.
Globally, the International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates that there are approximately 2,500 adult flat-headed cats left in the wild, classifying the species as endangered.
Additionally, it was not immediately clear how many individuals the detections represent, as the species lacks distinctive markings, making counting difficult.
While the findings indicate a relatively high concentration of the species, said Rattapan Pattanarangsan, program manager of Panthera’s conservation program.
