Guwahati: A new study has documented seven distinct coat colour forms of the elusive Asiatic golden cat in Arunachal Pradesh’s West Kameng district, making the region a significant hotspot of colour diversity in the Eastern Himalaya.
The findings, based on camera-trap surveys, also record three colour forms in Sikkim’s Teesta basin and add to scientific understanding of the wild cat’s remarkable variation.
The research, published in the journal Mammalian Biology, expands the known western limit of golden cat colour diversity in the Eastern Himalaya.
Researchers identified golden, cinnamon, grey, melanistic (black), ocelot-patterned, brown and red forms in West Kameng. In Sikkim, they recorded cinnamon, red and grey forms.
The Asiatic golden cat (Catopuma temminckii) is a medium-sized wild cat found across parts of South and Southeast Asia. Despite its name, its coat can vary considerably, from golden and reddish hues to grey, dark and spotted patterns.
Camera traps reveal unusual diversity
Researchers conducted camera-trap surveys between 2022 and 2025 across West Kameng in Arunachal Pradesh and the Teesta basin in Sikkim. The West Kameng survey covered 106 camera-trap sites at elevations ranging from above 1,000 metres to below 4,700 metres.
In the Teesta basin, 172 sites were surveyed at elevations ranging from above 500 metres to below 5,500 metres.
The team obtained 32 golden cat images from West Kameng and 117 from the Teesta basin. Most detections were recorded above 2,000 metres.
In West Kameng, the common golden form was photographed at 3,382 metres, while a grey golden cat in the Teesta basin was recorded at 3,737 metres. The researchers said their findings represented the first documentation of such extensive colour variation in western Arunachal Pradesh.
One of the striking observations was the presence of red and golden individuals in the same habitat in West Kameng. Their similar body sizes suggested that they could be adults and possibly a mating pair, although the researchers cautioned that there is no evidence of colour-based mate preferences in felids.
The co-occurrence indicates that different colour forms can persist in the same landscape, rather than being separated entirely by habitat.
Why does the cat come in so many colours?
The reasons behind the golden cat’s coat diversity remain poorly understood. The study suggests that the Eastern Himalaya’s rugged terrain, wide elevation range and varied forest environments may help sustain different colour forms.
Across the region, forests change from subtropical broadleaf vegetation to temperate conifers and alpine scrub over relatively short distances. Such environmental variation may favour different coat patterns through camouflage and other ecological adaptations.
The researchers also discuss the possible role of genetic variation and population history. However, they stress that further work is needed to establish whether different colour forms use habitats differently or vary in their behaviour and ecological requirements.
The study’s broader comparison of published records found that colour diversity is particularly pronounced in the Eastern Himalaya and adjoining areas, including Bhutan, northern Myanmar and southwestern China. By contrast, records from places such as Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra generally show fewer colour forms.
The authors say West Kameng and the wider Eastern Himalaya offer important opportunities to investigate how this variation evolved and is maintained. They call for further camera-trap surveys, behavioural observations and genetic research to understand the relationship between colour, habitat and the species’ evolutionary history.
The study, titled “All shades of gold and beyond: phenotypic polymorphism in the Asiatic golden cat, with new insights from Eastern Himalaya region”, was authored by Shagun Thakur, Nishigandha Mahajan, Sameera Hindalekar, Pooja Pant, Ranjana Pal, Vineet K. Dubey, Govindan Veeraswami Gopi and Sambandam Sathyakumar from WII.
The research was carried out as part of the National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem programme, supported by the Department of Science and Technology.