Andean Cat

Fascinating facts about the Andean Cat

• The Andean mountain cat is classified as Endangered because fewer than 1,500 individuals are thought to survive in the wild. This small population size has led to its inclusion on the IUCN Red List, as well as on the US Federal List and CITES Appendix I, giving it legal protection across its range. Conservation groups such as the Andean Cat Alliance were created to coordinate research and protection efforts.
• The Andean mountain cat lives exclusively in the high Andes, occupying elevations as low as 1,800 m in southern Argentina and soaring above 4,000 m in Chile, Bolivia and central Peru. This altitude-restricted range is characterised by arid, sparsely vegetated, steep and rocky terrain that the cat prefers. Its presence is confined to temperate terrestrial habitats where suitable prey such as mountain viscachas occur.
• A recent survey in Jujuy Province of north-western Argentina found the Andean cat at a density of only seven to twelve individuals per 100 km² around 4,200 m elevation. In the nearby Salar de Surire Natural Monument, researchers estimated just five cats occupying a 250 km² area. Such low densities reflect the species' rarity and the patchy distribution of its preferred prey. The sparse numbers make accurate population assessments difficult.
• The Andean mountain cat relies almost entirely on the mountain viscacha for food, with that prey supplying 93.9 % of the biomass it consumes. Although viscachas dominate the diet, they represent only about half of the individual prey items because each animal is large, so smaller mammals, reptiles and birds fill the remainder. The cats hunt mainly during moonless nights, with fewer sightings on bright moons.
• Adult Andean mountain cats have skulls that measure between 100.4 mm and 114.8 mm in length, a size that exceeds both the pampas cat and the domestic cat. These relatively large skulls accompany a body length of up to 85 cm and a weight of up to 5.5 kg.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Andean Cat

In the harsh, rugged expanse of the Andes, a phantom-like creature roams, its tawny coat blending seamlessly into the rocky terrain as it pads silently through the shadows. The Andean cat is a master of stealth, its large eyes watchful and intent as it navigates the unforgiving landscape with a lithe, economical grace, its very existence a testament to the resilience of life in one of the most inhospitable environments on Earth. As it moves, its tail twitches with a subtle, almost imperceptible rhythm, a hint of the wild, unbridled energy that drives this elusive and enigmatic predator.

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