Lets bring on the Americanos!

The following felines are from South America. Unfortunatly some are quite rare to photograph, so there are not many features here, either way support these artists and the felines they have been very nicely portrayed.

So read it up and fave!

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Family: Felidae (cats)
Subfamily: Felinae (small to medium sized cats)
Genus: Acinonyx (American spotted cats)

Pantanal Cat - Leopardus braccatus

The Pantanal Cat is a small feline of Brazil and northern Argentina. As much as I research about them, this is all I could find out. Not even status is available!

Geoffrey’s Cat - Leopardus geoffroyi

Indeed monsieur Geoffrey St. Hilaire, a French naturalist, was the guy who discovered this cat in South America.



The back of their semi-circular ears are black with a white spot which serves as a signal of their mood to other cats; if aggressive, the ears are laid backward clearly presenting that white spot. This is very common in cats in general.



So what to do if you want to see one in the wild? Go to woodlands or scrublands in Paraguay or Argentina – at night (they are nocturnal), and look up at the trees, where they hunt and sleep. Apparently they are near threatened – so don’t hurt them!

Colocolo - Leopardus Colocolo

The Colocolo rage in countries of Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, and the rest of the South-Western area.

They have are very diverse coat coloration and marking; silver-grey with reddish bands, solid black and even solid red with black bands. No wonder their skin was widely used in the trade market in the 70’s. Today they are protected, so not skin for you.

Colocolo cats eat guinea pigs, ground birds and even poultry, and they are defiantly not house cats as it has been reported that they are aggressive felines and very hard to tame.

Kodkod - Leopardus guigna

A thick, short tailed kitty – the smallest feline in the western hemisphere – is found in Padagonia and Chile.



By the way: “extremely rare” kitty according to some and according to others they are vulnerable. I think what they mean with rare is the fact that it’s hard to come across one, the reason why one cannot say much about their habits, other that they feed on little animals and insects and that they spend a lot of time on trees.

Andean Mountain Cat - Leopardus jacobita

On the cold, dry and windy Andes Mountains, there are less than 2500 individuals throught to exist; hence endangered.

Nothing is known about their habits or diets, and only two researches have managed to photograph it. It is very hard to find it in the wild, and if you want to see one up close, try museums.

Picture: [link]

Pampas Cat - Leopardus pajerus

These cats have not been studied much in the wild – very little is known about them.

They have been observed to hunt small birds and mammals at night (which is very common in cats in general).

These small headed cats are found in wide ranges in South America, namely from Equator to Chile.

Ocelot - Leopardus pardalis

Inhabiting forests and scrublands from Mexico to north-eastern South America, the Ocelot resembles the Margay, however being twice their size and having a diet consisting of deer, snakes, peccaries and monkeys. They are nocturnal, so during the hot days they rest in cool hollow trees until night comes when they hunt. The ocelot is not like other cats; unlike others, they love to swim - they are defiantly not afraid of water.



They were heavily hunted for fur and where near extinction. Fortunately, their population started to rise, but nearly extinct in southern United States. Different sources say different things; least concern or endangered, either way, keep your eyes and ears open, because it is not fun losing an unique animal specie.

Oncilla - Leopardus tigrinus

Also known as the Tiger cat, they range in South American countries such as Brazil, Colombia and Peru, favouring the wooded countryside. Even though small, they are very agressive – so be careful.



Deforestation has become a big problem for them, as well as being hunted for fur. To show you some statistics 13,000 were killed in 1977, and 84,500 in 1983 which is 235 individuals per day. They are truly beautiful cats with huge black eyes – don’t let them die out as they could get extinct because they are not so common; they are near threatened.

Margay - Leopardus weidii

A feline found in the tropical rainforests of Mexico, Central and South America. They are very similar to ocelots, but much smaller. They live on trees, therefore having an extremely long tail for balance – it makes up 70% of its total body length.



Amazinly, unlike other cats, they can rotate their ankles around 180º and climb down a tree head first, like a squirrel. And unlike other cats they are diurnal (daytime lifestyle).



They were heavily hunted, which was their biggest threat. However once it stopped, they are not threatened by deforestation. This is very important, because they have a 50% infant mortality rate in captivity, therefore not doing well in zoos. If the tropical forest in South America is gone, you may very well say good bye to these beautiful creates, as well as other very unique animals, some of which haven’t even been discovered!

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Here are the links for the previous articles from this serie Felines for Deviants...

1 - Small Cats

2 - Asian Cats and Puma

3 - Lynx and Cheetah

Thank you for your interest and support the artists!