New records of the Endangered Andean mountain cat in northern Argentina

PEROVIC, P.; WALKER, R. S.; NOVARO, A. J.

ORYX

CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS

Año: 2003 vol. 37 p. 374 - 377

0030-6053

Fewpublished records exist for the Endangered Andean mountain cat Oreailurus jacobita, a rare and little known felid restricted to high altitudes of the Andes of South America. We present 20 new records for mountain cat in Argentina and analyse its altitudinal overlap with the sympatric pampas cat Oncifelis colocolo, a widespread habitat generalist, in north-west Argentina. Our data confirm the recent presence of the Andean mountain cat at several locations in Jujuy, Salta, and Catamarca provinces. Nevertheless, densities appear to be much lower than those of the pampas cat. This Lower Risk, near threatened species represented 68% of the records for small cats at high altitudes and its altitudinal range overlapped with the lower 1,000 m of the range of the Andean mountain cat. Protected areas for the Andean mountain cat in Argentina should be above 3,500 m and have a high proportion of habitat above 4,000 m, where the abundance of potential competitors is lower.