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Small Wild Cats
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Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis)
Is a wild cat distributed extensively within South America, as well as the islands of Trinidad and Margarita, Central America, and Mexico. North of Mexico, it is found regularly only in the extreme southern part of Texas, although there are rare sightings in southern Arizona. The ocelot is a medium-sized spotted cat, similar to the bobcat in physical proportions. The ocelot is between 66 and 100 centimetres in head-and-body length and weighs 8–14 kilograms. Larger individuals have occasionally been recorded. The thin tail, 26–41 centimetres long, is ringed or striped and is shorter than the hindlimbs. The round ears are marked with a bright white spot, in contrast with the black background. The eyes are brown, and gleam golden when exposed to light. Ocelots are carnivores and prey on small mammals, such as armadillos, opossums and rabbits, rodents, small birds, fish, insects and reptiles. Credits to @tghomasgoossen @acaatinga and @photoinnatura  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Geoffroy's Cat (Leopardus geoffroyi) from Argentina.
Photo and information credits: Sebastian Kennerknecht Photography "Pictured above is a Geoffroy's cat resting in one of Argentina’s numerous vast and green fields. Found throughout southern South America, these cats are known for their nocturnal tendencies, solitary living arrangements, and small size, comparable to that of a domesticated cat. The Geoffroy’s cat is additionally regarded to as an avid swimmer and climber."  *This image is copyright of its original author
The jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi)
Is a small wild cat native to southern North America and South America. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2002. In some Spanish-speaking countries, the jaguarundi is also called gato colorado, gato moro, león brenero, onza, tigrillo, and leoncillo. The jaguarundi has short legs, an elongated body, and a long tail. The ears are short and rounded. The coat is without spots, uniform in color, with, at most, a few faint markings on the face and underside. The coat can be either blackish to brownish-grey (grey phase) or foxy red to chestnut (red phase); individuals of both phases can be born in the same litter. It has a head and body length excluding the tail of 51 to 77 centimetres with a 28 to 51 cm-long tail, and weighs 3 to 6,5 kilograms. The jaguarundi is found from southern Texas and coastal Mexico in the north, through Central and South America east of the Andes, and as far south as northern Argentina and Uruguay. Its habitat is lowland brush areas close to a source of running water, and may include any habitat from dry thorn forest to wet grassland. While commonly found in the lowlands, they have been reported at elevations as high as 3,200 m (10,500 ft). Jaguarundis also occasionally inhabit dense tropical areas. credits to @Lucas.l8photos @Lucas.l8photos @animals.today @savetheanimalssavetheworld and @oliselmo  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
The bobcat (Lynx rufus)
The bobcat is a North American cat that appeared during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago (AEO).Containing 12 recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to central Mexico, including most of the contiguous United States. The bobcat is an adaptable predator that inhabits wooded areas, as well as semidesert, urban edge, forest edge, and swampland environments. Though the bobcat prefers rabbits and hares, it hunts insects, chickens, geese and other birds, small rodents, and deer. Prey selection depends on location and habitat, season, and abundance. Like most cats, the bobcat is territorial and largely solitary, although with some overlap in home ranges. The adult bobcat is 65 to 100 cm long from the head to the base of the tail; the stubby tail adds 13 to 15 cm and its "bobbed" appearance gives the species its name, it weights from 7 to 18 kilograms. The bobcat is crepuscular. It keeps on the move from three hours before sunset until about midnight, and then again from before dawn until three hours after sunrise.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
The Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx)
The Eurasian lynx is a medium-sized cat native to Siberia, Central, Eastern, and Southern Asia, Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2008 as it is widely distributed, and most populations are considered stable. Eurasian lynx have been re-introduced to several forested mountainous areas in Central and Southeastern Europe; these re-introduced subpopulations are small, less than 200 animals. The Eurasian lynx is the largest lynx species, ranging in length from 80 to 140 cm and standing 60–75 cm at the shoulder. The tail measures 11 to 24 cm in length.They weight from 12 to 25 kg. Male lynxes from Siberia, where the species reaches the largest body size, can weigh up to 38 kg. Lynx prey largely on small to fairly large sized mammals and birds. Among the recorded prey items for the species are hares, rabbits, marmots, squirrels, dormice, other rodents, mustelids (such as martens), grouse, red foxes, wild boar, chamois, young moose, roe deer, red deer, reindeer and other ungulates. credits to @shibatakku0814 @lilywillowphotography @jonesy.c @gilesclark and @thebigcatsanctuaryuk  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Serval (Leptailurus serval)
It is a wild cat found in Africa. It is the sole member of the genus Leptailurus and was first described by German naturalist Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1776. Eighteen subspecies are recognised. The serval is a slender, medium-sized cat that stands 54–62 cm at the shoulder and weighs 8–16 kg. The head-and-body length is typically between 67 and 100 cm and the tail measures 24 to 45 cm. It is characterised by a small head, large ears, a golden-yellow to buff coat spotted and striped with black, and a short, black-tipped tail. The serval has the longest legs of any cat relative to its body size. Active in the day as well as at night, servals tend to be solitary with minimal social interaction. Both sexes establish highly overlapping home ranges of 10 to 32 km2 (4–12 sq mi), and mark them with feces and saliva, they prey on rodents (particularly vlei rats), small birds, frogs, insects, and reptiles. The serval uses its sense of hearing to locate the prey; to kill small prey, it leaps over 2 m above the ground to land on the prey on its forefeet, and finally kills it with a bite on the neck or the head. The serval is confined to Africa – it is rare in northern Africa and the Sahel, but widespread in southern Africa, where their range is reportedly expanding. In northern Africa, the serval is known only from Morocco and has been reintroduced in Tunisia, but is feared to be extinct in Algeria. Credits to @iconicafrica @charlotte_rhod and @wu.photography  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Serval (Leptailurus serval)
credits to @dancerzoolady @strykertheserval and @madocao_208  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
The margay (Leopardus wiedii)
The margay is a small cat native to Central and South America that is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN since 2008 because remaining populations are thought to be declining due to loss of habitat following conversion of forests .The margay is very similar to the larger ocelot in appearance, although the head is a little shorter, the eyes larger, and the tail and legs longer. It weighs from 2.5 to 4 kg (5.7 to 8.8 lb), with a body length of 47 to 79 cm (19 to 31 in), and a tail length of 33 to 50 cm (13 to 20 in). Most notably the margay is a much more skilful climber than its relative, and it is sometimes called the tree ocelot because of this ability. Whereas the ocelot mostly pursues prey on the ground, the margay may spend its entire life in the trees, leaping after and chasing birds and monkeys through the treetops. It is remarkably agile; its ankles can turn up to 180 degrees, it can grasp branches equally well with its fore and hind paws. The margay has been observed to hang from branches with only one foot. credits to @wildnetorg @coxandkingsusa @world_pictures_z and @noherrera  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
The margay (Leopardus wiedii)
The margay is found from southern Mexico, through Central America and in northern South America east of the Andes. The southern edge of its range reaches Uruguay and northern Argentina. They are found almost exclusively in areas of dense forest, ranging from tropical evergreen forest to tropical dry forest and high cloud forest. While margays are nocturnal, in some areas they have also been observed to hunt during the day. They prefer to spend most of their life in the trees, but also travel across the ground, especially when moving between hunting areas. During the day, they rest in relatively inaccessible branches or clumps of lianas. This cat hunts small mammals, including monkeys, and birds, eggs, lizards and tree frogs. credits to @faunamaya @kellysimoneshelton and @animaltastic123  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
The Canadian lynx (Lynx canadensis)
Canadian lynx is a North American mammal of the cat family, Felidae. With the recognised subspecies, it ranges across Canada and into Alaska as well as some parts of the northern United States and extending down the Rocky Mountains to Colorado, where they were reintroduced in the 1990s. With a dense silvery-brown coat, ruffed face and tufted ears, the Canada lynx resembles the other species of the mid-sized Lynx genus. It is slightly larger than the bobcat, with which it shares parts of its range, and over twice the size of the domestic cat.The Canada lynx is a medium-sized cat, similar in many ways to the bobcat. This lynx is between 80 and 100 centimetres in head-and-body length, stands 48–56 centimetres tall at the shoulder and weighs 8,5 –18 kilograms. At roughly half the size of the Eurasian lynx, physical proportions do not vary significantly across its range and are probably naturally selected to allow the animal to survive on smaller prey. The Canada lynx is sexually dimorphic, with males larger and heavier than females. Like the bobcat, the Canada lynx has forelimbs shorter than the hindlimbs, so that the back appears to be sloping downward. The stubby tail, typical of lynxes, measures 5–15 centimetres. Exclusively carnivores, the Canadian lynx depends heavily on snowshoe hares for food, Snowshoe hare populations in Alaska and central Canada undergo cyclic rises and falls – at times the population densities can fall from as high as 2,300 per square kilometre (6,000/sq mi) to as low as 12 per square kilometre (31/sq mi). Consequently, a period of hare scarcity occurs every 8 to 11 years. During these times, lynxes will include other animals – such as ducks, grouse, moles, ptarmigan, red squirrels, voles and young ungulates (Dall's sheep, mule deer and reindeer) – in their diet, though snowshoe hares are still the primary component. credits to @respectanimalrights @allysaswilley and @preventcatextinction  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
The Canadian lynx (Lynx canadensis)
credits to @sonyalphatr @joaniela_birdtrainer @kelt.pavel and @toftetom  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus)
The Iberian lynx is a wild cat species native to the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe that is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.[1] It preys almost exclusively on the European rabbit.The Iberian lynx has a bright yellowish to tawny colored spotted and short fur, a short body, long legs, a short tail, a small head with tufted ears and facial whiskers, called a ruff. Head and body length of males is 74.7 to 82 cm (29.4 to 32.3 in) with a 12.5 to 16 cm (4.9 to 6.3 in) long tail and a weight of 7 to 15.9 kg (15 to 35 lb). Males are larger than females who have a head-to-body-length of 68.2 to 77.5 cm (26.9 to 30.5 in) and weigh 9.2 to 10 kg (20 to 22 lb). It is now restricted to very limited areas in southern Spain, with breeding only confirmed in Sierra Morena and Doñana coastal plains. The Iberian lynx preys foremost on the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) for the bulk of its diet, supplemented by red-legged partridge, rodents and to a smaller degree also on wild ungulates. It sometimes preys on young fallow deer, roe deer, mouflon, and ducks. A male requires one rabbit per day while a female raising kittens will eat three per day. credits to @joanaguerratadeu @lifeinsidenature @animals_lookback and @izythereal *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus)
credits to @andresmigueldominguez @mossy.earth @qfjg.bio and @wwfspain  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Mapping range dynamics from opportunistic data: spatiotemporal modelling of the lynx distribution in the Alps over 21 years Molinari-Jobin et al., 2017
Abstract: "The Eurasian lynx is of special conservation concern based on the European Union's Habitat Directive and its populations need to be maintained or restored at favourable conservation status. To evaluate lynx population status, appropriate monitoring needs to be in place. We modelled the distribution dynamics of lynx in the Alps (200 000 km2) during 1994–2014 at a resolution of 100 km2. Lynx distribution and detection probability varied by year, country, forest cover, elevation and distance to the nearest release site. Occupancy of neighbouring quadrats had a strong positive effect on colonization and persistence rates. Our analyses demonstrate the importance of accounting for imperfect detection: the raw data underestimated the lynx range by 55% on average, depending on country and winter. Over the past 20 years the Alpine lynx range has expanded at an average rate of 4% per year, which was partly due to the lynx translocations to new areas. Our approach to large-scale distribution modelling and analysing trends using site occupancy models can be applied retrospectively and is useful in many cases where a network of trained people is established to report the presence of target species, for example, in Europe where member states of the European Union have to report conservation status of species of community interest. Hence, dynamic occupancy models are an appealing framework for inference about the large-scale range dynamics based on opportunistic data and a useful tool for large-scale management and conservation programmes." Full Article
From Pantanal, Mato Grosso, Brazil:
Photo and information credits: Neeraj Bantia Photography "the rare Ocelot" | Brazil Diaries Our Brazilian trip started from Cuiaba, which followed to Chapada. Honestly, I am not a birder. My eye hasn’t been trained to capture the fliers, But the canvas which unfolds in this magical land – where the jewel tone birds in unimaginable hues dance to the first rays of the sun and stay unrestrained and bold till they kiss the last rays goodbye lingered on. The documentor in me was drawn to the magic of the Macaws, Humming birds and species that were lifers (seen for the first time) for me. It’s effortless to get intertwined in their world of no boundaries. There is a method in their play. It’s not just the colour and the drama that spins a web, but a story that goes beyond that and you, as a voyeur are part of it. If Chapada was entry-way into paradise, I knew that a parallel universe awaited me, Every day was a discovery. Never was there a moment, where I could shrug my shoulder and say – “Been there done that…” because this land does not spin that tale. It whispers secrets which hold you captivated. The canvas it unfolds holds sights that could actually transport you into a different era. The only noise against the canvas of silence is the cacophony of the birds, the whisper of the wind and the buzz of the insects. The Amazonian forest is alive and the vibe is infectious. My tribe moved on to Transpantaneria road which is a link between the small town called of Poconé and the place of Porto Jofre where the road ends. This 147 km long dirt road – I wouldn’t call it a road but a crocodilian slalom course, which crosses no less than 122 wooden bridges and has around 17 lodges. Rich in biodiversity & wildlife, your bucket list for the vast wetlands can be easily ticked off. I had read about the Ocelot - very similar to a Leopard Cub otherwise known as the Dwarf leopard or the Painted leopard (the dark rosettes, along with spots and stripes which is its distinctive markings on its fur). The cat thrives in South America. It is, beyond words, one of the chief attractions in the lodge of Transpanteria road. I knew it was a rare find. But then, as a story-teller, you look for the layers and the rarest of the rare stories. You sift diamond through coal. And I hoped for a visual treat with the Jaguatirica. Once we checked into our lodge, our birding sessions brought us up close and personal with Toco Toucans, Jaibru Storks, Herons, branched family of kingfishers. They had the power to take me away from the now. The only pull back into the real world was when our guide said, “Be ready at sharp 7. If lady luck smiles, we may find the Ocelot.” The Ocelot is nocturnal and begins its activities during twilight. But when the grey skies loom large, it can be spotted even during the day. Solitary by nature, it preys on armadillos, rabbits, rodents, opossums, insects, reptiles, fish and small birds. So this is what I had gleaned from my research. But, being here, in a land where I was part of the jungle and it’s lore and searching for a being which is mystical – the equations change. Textbook information takes a back-seat. Your senses are on high alert. Would we be lucky… or would our frames go home empty was a question which did find it's way into my being, but my eyes still searched. As we began our short walk into a flood-lit arena which is around 300 meters from the Lodge, we were cautioned to mind our foot as we walked beside the river bank we didn't want step onto a capybara, snake or even a caiman by any chance. There were hushed tales around an ocelot family, which was a resident of this area. But our guide also slipped it in, “Lady luck smiles on those whom she favors. Chances are that 5 out of 10 nights, the ocelot makes its way to the bank.” Our eyes searched – encompassing the land. Every crack of the twig had us turning our lights to search for the beyond. The air stilled. Almost like she didn’t want anything to disturb us from our search. And, for today, we caught a glimpse of two red eyes ahead. We hurried up to the spot and shone our lights into the woods. “Ocelot” was whispered. The sighting was woven to my exacting standards. The ocelot stood there – beckoning us to enter its world and capture it. Bold and in its playground, it knew that it was the leader who hummed the tune for us to follow. Over the frames, I captured, I waited for one where it would give me an essence of its being – a phantom-like lovely shy & nocturnal cat that it was. I wanted a frame which would weave a visual poetry around simplicity and sensuality in a single breath. Bold and graceful, the frame captured one that lingered on for me. Because this is how I wanted my story to begin with the Ocelot. A dance from land to the tree, a pose to an odd curve ball – the light played truant. The shadows ruled roost. I tried… About the Ocelot: Ocelots have a raspy tongue, which can successfully remove every piece of meat from a bone. They are known to swim efficiently, these solitary cats live single in territories that are scent-marked by urine spraying and forming dung piles, Almost thrice the size of an average house cat, the ocelot is a sleek animal with a gorgeous dappled coat.  *This image is copyright of its original author
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