'Wild' Cat Wednesday

Wild Cat Wednesdays, as you know, might be getting a little repetitive but guess what??  That’s no problem.  Wild Cat Wednesdays honor all cats from small too big and the IUCN Red List is a great source of information.  So, what we kitties would like to do is go through every cat A-Z on ‘Wild’ Cat Wednesdays and ‘Threatened Cat’ Thursdays.  Of course, these are cats that don’t have their own specific day and we’d start at with cats that start with an A in no particular order.

So- drumroll….

Meet the Andean Mountain Cat.  Note the photo is from Wikipedia.

A:  It's also known just as the Andean Cat.

B:  It lives in Bolivia, Argentina, Chile and Peru.

C: They are Classified by the IUCN as 'endangered.'

D: They have been seen during the daytime.

 

E: Canadian Researchers say they live on the Eastern side of the Andes.

F: They are the most endangered, small Feline in the Americas.

G: This cat is ash-Grey and it has brown and yellowish splotches with vertical stripes.

H: When it comes to Hunting, they don't specialize.

I: Andean Indians think their pelts are very powerful.

J: Juveniles are lighter than adults.

K: It sometimes is Killed because of superstition.

L: It's Length is 22-25 inches and it weighs maybe 12 pounds.

M: Mountain Visacha is a main prey.

N: Night seems to be their favorite time of day

O: Observations of their behavior is rare. They are not seen enough, obviously.

P: The Population is decreasing. 

Q:  Even though there are protections, some have not Quit using this cat for ancient ceremonies.

R: Rare is a word tossed out a lot about this cat but I don't think anyone really has a clue on how rare or how many there actually are. 

S:  Supposedly, they are Solitary with the exception of seeing a mom with her kittens.

T: Some believe their Tail is used for balance.

U: Sometimes you have to wonder if they like to hide Under rocky piles for protection. 

V: Vegetation is sparse in the Andean Mountains which is the home of this cat.

W: The Weather in their home is nasty. It's a lot of snow and sleet. 

X: If anything drives these animals to eXtinction it might be the fact mining is done in protected areas.

Y: Unfortunately, throughout the Years, not enough information has been gathered about this cat since they are so rarely seen.

Z: There seems to be a new 'Zest' about saving these animals because there are stronger poaching laws in these countries.