The Andean Cat Is One Of The Rarest And Least-Known Cats In The World

The Andean cat is one of the rarest and least-known cats in the world. It lives high in the Andes Mountains and Patagonian steppe, where food is scarce and weather conditions are extreme. This small, sturdy cat is difficult to find—there have been only ten recorded sightings in 25 years—and even harder to study.

The Andean cat occurs mainly in the high Andes of Peru and Bolivia, the north of Chile and northern Argentina up to 5,000 m. Recently it has been found outside the Andes, in the Patagonian steppe and scrub habitats at much lower altitudes (as low as 650 m). In 2002, an Andean Cat and kitten were sighted in a reserve in San Juan province, Argentina, which extended their known distribution south by 500 kilometers. Field work in 2004 found evidence of these cats in the foothills on the eastern side of the Andes Mountains. These records extend their distribution to scrub habitat within the Patagonian steppe. The foothills population also has a patchy distribution, and is thought to coincide with that of their main prey species. Two density estimations have been done in northern Argentina and centre west of Bolivia, resulting in 7-12 and 1.8 individuals/100 km² respectively. Due to the naturally fragmented habitat, territories and home ranges may be very large. The home range was 65.5 km² for a radio-tracked female in Bolivia and 58.5 km² for a male in Argentina. Camera trapping in Argentina produced an estimate of 40.5 km².