Geoffrey's
Cat, named after the 19th century naturalist, Geoffrey St Hilaire, is found
throughout southern South America, east of the Andes. With individuals found
inhabiting areas around the Straits of Magellan, along with the Puma it is
the most southerly of the worlds wild cat species.
Zoological name: Oncifelas geoffroyi
Species: All-black or melanistic specimens are quite common;
melanism is controlled by a single dominant allele. Long known as a member
of the Felis genus it has also been placed with the ocelot as a Leopardus
species. Species in the Leopardus and Oncifelis genera have only 36
chromosomes, other cats have 38. It has also been placed in the same genus
(Oncifelis) as the closely related pampas cat and the kodkod.
Five subspecies have been described:
F. (O.) g. geoffroyi Central Argentina
F. (O.) g. euxantha Northern Argentina, Andean Bolivia
F. (O.) g. leucobapta Patagonia (Disputed)
F. (O.) g. paraguae Paraguay, south east Brazil, Uruguay,
north Argentina
F. (O.) g. salinarum North west to central Argentina
Physical appearance: One of the small cats about which little is
known, this cat has a uniformly patterned coat of small black spots of
nearly equal size and spacing. The ground color tends to be more of an ochre
color in the northern part of their range to a gray in the southern part.
Black (melanistic) individuals are common. Males weigh an average of 10
pounds, and females average 8.
Presence on the planet: Versatile in its utilisation of habitats,
Geoffroy’s cat is at home in scrub woodlands, open bush, rocky terrain
and riverine forest. Recorded at Cochabamba in the Bolivian Andes at 3500
metres, its geographical range covers practically all of the continent of
South America south of the Gran Chaco in Uruguay and Paraguay, the Brazilian
Rio Grande do Sul and the mountains of southern Bolivia, northern Chile and
Jujuy in northwest Argentina. It is not found further south than the Straits
of Magellan.
Habitat: They occupy a wide variety of habitats, from the pampas
grasslands and arid Chaco shrub and woodlands, up to alpine saline deserts.
It is absent from tropical rain forests, broad-leaved forests, and open
areas. It occupies the same areas as the Pampas Cat, but the Geoffroy’s
sticks to dense ground cover which separates the two ecologically.
Diet: Geoffroy’s cats hunt small birds, lizards, insects and rodents.
They will eat eggs and in captivity have been observed to chew green hay
stems. Cats eat vegetation to aid digestion and to assist vomiting and the
elimination of fur balls.
Reproduction
& Offspring: After mating it appears that the male takes little part
in the raising of the young. The litter size is usually small, between 1- 4
(typically two) kittens and they are born after a gestation period of
approximately 72 - 78 days. The kittens weigh between 65 - 90g at birth and
have been noted as developing quickly. Kittens can almost stand at about
four days and are often independent of their mother at about eight months.
Conservation status: Status: CITES: Appendix I. IUCN: Not listed.
Hunted extensively throughout its range for its fur, geoffrey's cat is one
of the most hunted of wild cat species. However, geoffrey's cat is still the
most highly populated of all South American wild cats and it is possibly due
to this large population that as many as 150,000 pelts are traded annually.
Geoffrey's cat is now listed in CITES Appendix 2 as threatened.
Life span: 14 years
Adaptive wonders!
Versatile and tolerant of moderate deforestation, Geoffroy’s cat can
adapt to human presence better than other small cat species in South
America. Rather than flee from disturbed areas, they seek them out and take
advantage of the lack of competition from other species. They are easily
trapped and tamed, and many natives keep them as pets and rodent control
agents. In some areas, they are considered a threat to domestic poultry and
shot on sight. In other areas, they are considered a culinary item.
