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Oreailurus jacobita
– Endangered
Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
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ANIMALIA
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Phylum:
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CHORDATA
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Class:
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MAMMALIA
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Order:
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CARNIVORA
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Family:
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FELIDAE
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Scientific Name:
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Oreailurus jacobita
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Species Authority:
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(Cornalia, 1865)
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Common Name/s:
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ANDEAN CAT (Eng)
MOUNTAIN CAT (Eng)
CHAT DES ANDES (Fre)
CHINCHAY (Spa)
GATO ANDINO (Spa)
GATO LINCE (Spa)
OSJO (Spa)
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Taxonomic Notes:
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Likely to be transferred to Leopardus.
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Assessment Information
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Red List Category & Criteria:
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EN C2a(i) ver 3.1 (2001)
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Year Assessed:
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2002
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Assessor/s:
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Cat Specialist Group
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Evaluator/s:
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Nowell, K., Breitenmoser, U., Breitenmoser, C. & Jackson, P. (Cat Red List Authority)
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Justification:
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There has been a substantial increase in research effort for O. jacobita since publication of the Cat Action Plan (Nowell and Jackson 1996), and all new information points to the species rarity (Garcia-Perea 1999, Iriarte 1998, Lucherini et al. 1999, Perovic et al. 1999, Sanderson 1999, Villalba and Bernal 1998, Lucherini and Rocca 2000, Yensen and Seymour 2000, Walker and Novaro 2001). Based on estimates of geographic range and average densities of other small cats (Nowell and Jackson 1996), the Andean mountain cat’s total effective population size is estimated at below 2,500 mature breeding individuals, with a declining trend due to loss of prey base and persecution, and no subpopulation containing more than 250 mature individuals.
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History:
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| 1982 | - | Rare as Felis jacobita (Thornback and Jenkins 1982) |
| 1986 | - | Rare as Felis jacobita (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1986) |
| 1988 | - | Rare as Felis jacobita (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1988) |
| 1990 | - | Rare as Felis jacobita (IUCN 1990) |
| 1994 | - | Insufficiently Known (Groombridge 1994) |
| 1996 | - | Vulnerable (Baillie and Groombridge 1996) |
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Geographic Range
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Range Description:
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O. jacobita is known only from high elevations in the Andes, generally above 3,500 m in elevation, and ranging up to approximately 4,800 (Nowell and Jackson 1996, Walker and Novaro 2001).
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Countries:
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Native:
Argentina; Bolivia; Chile; Peru
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Population
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Population:
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The Andean mountain cat has only been seen in the wild a few times by scientists, and there are few museum specimens. While recent records have been collected from Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, the only published Peruvian record is from 1969 (Grimwood 1969, Walker and Novaro 2001). Andean mountain cats may be confused with a similar-looking and more common species, the pampas cat (Lynchailurus colocolo), also found at high elevations in the Andes (Villalba and Bernal 1999, Garcia-Perea 1999).
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Population Trend:
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Habitat and Ecology
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Habitat and Ecology:
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The Andean mountain cat is restricted to the rocky, arid, sparsely vegetated areas of the high Andes above the timberline. Its distribution is similar to the historic range of the chinchilla (Chinchilla brevicaudata) and current range of the mountain viscacha (Lagidium) (Yensen and Seymour 2000), which are believed to be its major prey (Nowell and Jackson 1996, Sanderson 1999).
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System:
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Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine
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Threats
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Threats:
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The mountain chinchilla was likely to have been a major prey species for the Andean mountain cat, but the species was hunted nearly to extinction for the fur trade (Nowell and Jackson 1996). Andean mountain cats have been observed in the wild hunting mountain viscachas, which lives in patchily distributed small colonies. It is a tradition throughout much of the high Andes to keep dried and stuffed specimens of both the Andean mountain cat and pampas cat for harvest festivals, when they are decorated with ribbons and money (Iriarte 1998, Sanderson 1999, Villalba and Bernal 1998). These cats were originally hunted with dogs.
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Conservation Actions
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Conservation Actions:
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Included on CITES Appendix I. The species also has full protection at national level across its entire range (Nowell and Jackson 1996).
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