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A mysterious red furry creature, captured on film in the dense forests of Borneo, could be a new species of carnivore. The mammal, which is slightly larger than a domestic cat, has dark red fur and a long, bushy tail. It was snapped twice at night by a camera trap set up by researchers from the conservation group WWF.

Its general shape – with a possibly pointed snout, small ears, and large powerful hind legs – suggests it is a meat-eater. It has some similarities with martens or civets and could belong to these groups, or it may belong to an entirely new group, says WWF.

“New species are always exciting, and new species of cuddly things are exciting,” says Nick Isaac, a research fellow at the Zoological Society of London, UK. But he warns it may be difficult to establish whether the new find genuinely represents a new species, or just a variation on a known species. “My reservation is – is it a range extension, or a slightly different colour morph of something we know about?” he told New Scientist.

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