Red, Catlike Animal May Be a New Species

[Thom Little]

A catlike creature photographed by camera traps on Borneo Island is likely to be a new species of carnivore, the World Wildlife Fund said Tuesday.

If confirmed, the animal -- which has dark red fur and a long, bushy tail -- would be first new carnivore species discovered on the island since 1895, when the Borneo ferret-badger was found, the fund said.

Cameras set up to photograph wildlife in Kayan Mentarang National Park on the Indonesian side of Borneo island have twice captured images of the animal, said Stephan Wulffraat, a Dutch biologist who is coordinating the WWF's research into the species.

"We have consulted several Bornean wildlife experts. Some thought it looked like a lemur, but most were convinced it was a new species of carnivore," Wulffraat said. "Until we have a live specimen in our hands, we can't be 100 percent sure. Now, I'm only 90 percent sure."


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-indonesia-new-species,1,4024645.story?coll=chi-news-hed

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. God was just hiding this animal all this time to mess with our heads,

I can hear it now.... and it's only been on earth 10,000 years or so.... Borneo Again.... harumph.

[DURHAM D]

2. What is all this research and looking around all about -

can't they just check the Ark inventory list ?

[pinniped]

4. Not so easy. They can't get to it because it's in the captain's...

quarters which is in the ark which is on top of Mt. Ararat in Turkey.

[Aimah]

3. Pics

http://www.wirepix.com/newsphotos/index.php

[Lorien]

5. Looks like a lemur to me

[newscott]

6. That's what I thought too.

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. A civet?

So far, two images are all that exist. But they were enough to convince Nick Isaac from the Institute of Zoology in London that the animal may indeed be new.

"The photos look most like a lemur," he told the BBC News website. "But there certainly shouldn't be lemurs in Borneo."

These long-tailed primates are confined to the island of Madagascar.

"It's more likely to be a viverrid - that's the family which includes the mongoose and civets - which is a very poorly known group," Dr Isaac said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4501152.stm

[Lorien]

17. Could be-there are some odd looking ones out there:

[JanusAscending]

18. Anyone ever heard of a Mearcat? (not sure of spelling)

That's what It looks like to me.

[Solon]

19. Meerkat...

http://www.meerkat.org/

[Hekate]

20. Meercats are in the mongoose family; live in African savannah

There's more here: http://www.oaklandzoo.org/atoz/azmeerkat.html

They're less than a foot tall, with 8" tail; about 1.5 pounds. They're highly social and live in underground warrens.

The thing they do that gets their pictures on posters is have one member stand guard, looking really alert and tall and skinny. Very cute -- and very alert.

Hekate

[JVS]

25. IT'S HIDEOUS! KILL IT! KILL THEM ALL!

:-)

[VegasWolf]

7. Hey, I never saw this animal listed on the Ark's manifest! nt

:bounce:

[pinniped]

8. A pregnant female escaped the jaws of the T-rex, whose name was...

on the manifest.

The male was not as fortunate.

You had to have been a matched pair to be on the list.

[Stand and Fight]

10. Oscar!!!! It's Oscar!!!!

:rofl:

[Webster Green]

12. I don't think it is Oscar...

He was more.....How do I say this...........disheveled.

[Stand and Fight]

21. I know... But that's the first thing that came to mind...

I laughed hysterically remembering that thread! I think I was still a lurker when that was posted, but man... Some of the funniest shit I've ever read on DU!

Glad to see that someone else remembers.

[ChrisK]

11. Please don't let Senator Frist know about this "cat"

He may be inclined to take it home....on the other hand it is a carnivore and may be in the mood for a soft,pasty human like Doctor Frist.

[Yupster]

13. These kinds of cameras is what made me

give up my faith in Bigfoot.

It seems if Bigfoot exists, we would have gotten a picture of it with a camera like this.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

23. Maybe Bigfoot is smart enough to know where the cameras are located.

[DeepModem Mom]

14. We had some foxes in our backyard who interacted with our indoor cats...

nose to nose, through glass walls. We couldn't help but notice how the foxes moved very similarly to cats, and how they would lounge on a sunny garden wall, as cats do. I don't know if others have noticed similar, but this story reminded me of that experience.

[wiley]

16. Foxes can be very catty

[DemoTex]

15. Big deal, Lucille!

I've got a big black panther stalking my mountain property! Nick-Nick met it face-to-face two years ago. Turned his black hair gray!


Panther stalking grounds .. I've seen it twice on the gravel road.

[blindpig]

22. Are you on the lower Rio Grande?

The Jaguar has a melanistic phase, the cougar doesn't. I know, people all over claim to see black panthers but according to all I know they just don't exist, as in no melanistic skins of cougar in any scientific collection. Folks in the Florida Panhandle swear by them and I recently talked to a local deer hunter who acted as though they were common knowledge. :hide: Have you seen this critter in good light? I don't like bring up stuff like this but have a genetic problem that won't let it pass. I've spent way to much time debunking snake myths to take any joy in it.:(

[Jack_DeLeon]

24. Cool...

I <3 black kittahs.

[flvegan]

26. A live specimen in their hands

Will quickly become a corpse, as they tear it apart to figure out what he/she is.