Andean Cat (Leopardus jacobita)

The Andean Cat, or Andean Mountain Cat, is one of the eight wild cats in the Leopardus family of cats, also known as the Ocelot family of cats. (Update: there are now thirteen Leopardus cats according to taxonomy changes since the last official Felidae classification in 2017.) The small spotted cats of the Leopardus family are distributed throughout Central and South America.

The beautiful silvery grey Andean Cat is very rare and occurs at low densities in its mountainous habitat of the Andes, South America.  Research on this cat is difficult in the extreme conditions of its high-altitude habitat and very little is known about its biology and ecology.

The fragile Andes mountain region with its specialist wildlife is being affected by global climate change. This is in addition to the usual threats of habitat degradation and loss due to human activities and expansion.

Small Wild Cats Audio - Coat Color

Listen to a short audio taken from a chapter in the book Small Wild Cats by well-known small cat conservationist Jim (James) Sanderson. Jim was instrumental in setting up the Andean Cat Alliance after he managed to find this elusive cat whilst camping out in the Andes mountains.

This excerpt covers how small wild cats like the Andean Cat get their coat color and what causes black coats.