A novel strategy for the conservation of an endangered carnivore: the Andean cat

LUCHERINI MAURO; MERINO MARIA JOSÉ; LUENGOS VIDAL ESTELA; REPPUCCI JUAN IGNACIO

Angers, Francia

Congreso; Third Forum on In Situ Conservation Projects for the European Zoos And Aquaria; 2006

The Zoo of Doué-la-Fontaine

  The Andean cat Oreailurus jacobita is listed as one of the most endangered and least known felids in the world by the IUCN Cat Specialist Group. This small felid almost exclusively inhabits the high-altitude (3,000-5,500 m) desert area of the Andes of Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. In 1996, rareness and prey loss were considered as mayor threats to its survival by the IUCN, but until a few years ago the almost complete lack of information prevented the planning of any conservation strategy. In 1998, our team (the GECM) started the first long-term project aiming to support the conservation of the Andean cat. With funds from La Torbiera Zoological Society, after a year of intensive field expeditions, we organized the 1st International Workshop on the Andean Cat, which led to the formation of a multinational team devoted to investigation and conservation of this elusive cat. In the following years, thanks to grants from BP Conservation Programme, Wild About Cats and Rufford Foundation, the GECM developed “The Soul of the Andes”, the fist project linking education and research for the conservation of Andean cats in Argentina. Simultaneously, we continued coordinating the cross-border cooperation effort that ultimately led, in 2003, to the creation of the Andean Cat Alliance (AGA) and the production of a species-specific Conservation Action Plan. The results of the researches carried out by the AGA members permitted to increase our understanding on this cat’s distribution and identify human persecution, habitat and prey loss and interspecific competition as the main factors affecting its conservation status. Through the global support provided by Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN), all the scientists and conservationists working on the Andean cat in its whole distribution range agreed to join the AGA and prioritize conservation actions, in collaboration with the Cat Specialist Group. The AGA is also innovative at adopting a global strategy for conservation education, based on the experience of the “EduGat Programme”, which was launched by the GECM in 2001 and has already reached 19 schools and several hundreds of students. Despite this novel and highly collaborative strategy, the AGA is also facing problems. The rarity of the Andean cat and remoteness of its range are challenging the efforts to estimate habitat requirements, population numbers and fragmentation, community participation activities are struggling to find successful strategies, and WCN is urging the AGA to identify alternative funding sources.