Smallest wildcat of the Atlantic Forest faces enormous threats

In October 2022, Paraguay hosted the ODESUR South American Games for the first time. The event proved a great success, and from the outset, people flocked to the games, largely thanks to the animal that was chosen to be the competition’s unusual mascot — the southern tiger cat (Leopardus guttulus).

This charming but little-known creature quickly endeared itself to the public, and the local media were quick to report on where it lives, what kind of cat it is and the growing problems with its habitat. The ODESUR Games highlighted that, although choosing the southern tiger cat as a sports mascot might seem unusual, so little is known about it.

Slightly larger than a domestic cat, this yellow-toned, black-spotted felid prowls the Atlantic Forest that stretches from Paraguay to Argentina and Brazil, even reaching the easternmost tip of Bolivia. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says its total population is around 6,000, and lists the animal as vulnerable.

The main threat throughout the Atlantic Forest is large-scale deforestation, explains Víctor Martínez, a researcher, member of the Paraguayan Association of Mastozoology and manager of protected areas with the Itaipú Dam, a hydroelectric plant shared by Paraguay and Brazil. But as is the case with all small felids in the region, not much research has been conducted on the southern tiger cat.

The Atlantic Forest’s three small, spotted felids

One of the few certainties about the southern tiger cat is that it shares its home in Paraguay’s Atlantic Forest with two other small, spotted felids. “We have the Leopardus guttulus, which is the southern tiger cat, and then there is the Leopardus wiedii (margay) and the Leopardus pardalis (ocelot). Often, all three are referred to as the southern tiger cat, but that is incorrect,” says Martínez.

Although they are not always easy to tell apart at first glance, each species has its own individual characteristics. According to data from the Association of Mastozoology, the southern tiger cat can measure 65-95 centimeters (25.5-37 inches) and weigh 1.5-3 kilograms (3.3-6.6 pounds). It has the shortest tail of the three felids, a rough coat and large spots on its fur, which sometimes appear to form open rings.

The margay is slightly longer, measuring 90-120 cm (35-47 in). Its weight varies between 2 kg and 5 kg (4.4 lbs and 11 lbs), it has bulging eyes, and its thick, plush fur varies from yellow-brown to clay brown.

The ocelot, on the other hand, is the largest of the three. Its size varies between 115 cm and 145 cm (45 in and 57 in) and its weight is between 8 kg and 16 kg (17.6 lbs and 35 lbs). Its tail is short but looks different from the rest because of the black and white rings on the lower section. The black spots on its coat are elongated, forming bands.

Listen to the southern tiger cat’s roar:

Deforestation challenging the southern tiger cat’s movements

Martínez explains that the big problem for the southern tiger cat is how much habitat it has lost in recent decades. This is why the species has the unfortunate honor of having joined the jaguar (Panthera onca) and the margay as the three most endangered species in Paraguay.

“Its habitat is the Atlantic Forest and, in Paraguay, we have lost almost all of it. Barely 7% of what was once the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest remains. The situation is really challenging for these animals because more and more forest is being lost every day,” he says.

Although Paraguay has had a law in place since 2004 known as Zero Deforestation, which prohibits deforestation for land conversion in the entire eastern region (where the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest, known by its Spanish-language acronym BAAPA, is located), the reality is that the forest is still being cut down. A 2022 report by the National Forest Institute (INFONA) states that 89,890 hectares (222,123 acres) of forest were destroyed in the eastern region between 2017 and 2021.

Data from the Global Forest Watch (GFW) show that between 2001 and 2021, the 10 departments in the BAAPA area have lost almost 1.5 million hectares (3.7 million acres) of forest cover, an area larger than the whole of Puerto Rico. “Deforestation is caused by the spread of urbanization and of land conversion for agriculture,” Martínez says.

Biologist Marianela Velilla, associate researcher, jaguar program coordinator with Guyra Paraguay and researcher at Paraguay’s National Council of Science and Technology, agrees that the greatest risk faced by felid species like the southern tiger cat is the loss and fragmentation of its habitat due to land use conversion.

According to Velilla, deforestation in the eastern region is by far the southern tiger cat’s biggest problem.

Paula Cruz, who holds a doctorate in biological sciences, is a researcher at Argentina’s National Council for Scientific and Technical Research. She has conducted further research on the species in Paraguay’s neighboring country and says that the southern tiger cat likes to move from one forest area to another. The problem is that, due to deforestation in the Atlantic Forest, the corridors linking them have been lost, and its journey has become more challenging.

Drug trafficking has also made its way into Paraguay’s forested region, affecting the lives of fauna and flora as well as those living in Indigenous and farming communities.

The INFONA report also states that 10,800 hectares (about 26,700 acres) deforested in the eastern region of the country between 2017 and 2021 were used for illegal marijuana planting; some 12% of all that was cleared over the four years.

Virtually the only areas with forests still standing in this part of Paraguay are the protected areas, many of which are controlled by the state but belong to private owners. Here, according to researchers, vegetation corridors remain and are frequently used by the southern tiger cat to move from one forest to another. However, the small felid must contend with an increasing problem in the protected areas: Drug traffickers have not only reached the forest, but the ecosystem’s protected areas have become a preferred site for marijuana plantations.

According to a report by Paraguay’s National Anti-Drug Secretariat, between 2004 and 2020, in the San Rafael, Mbaracayú, Morombí and Caazapá National Park nature reserves (all located in the BAAPA, in the eastern region of Paraguay), almost 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres) of forest were destroyed to make way for illegal marijuana plantations. This represents an area almost as large as the whole of the Paraguayan capital, Asunción (11,700 hectares, or about 28,900 acres).

An under-researched felid

Cruz, or “Tiri” (from the Spanish word for the southern tiger cat, tirica) as her peers call her because of her passion for the species, is one of few biologists who has chosen to specialize in researching the wild cat. Cruz is from Argentina and lives and works in the province of Misiones, a region bordering Paraguay that is also part of the Atlantic Forest.

“There is not much existing research into the species, but we do have some information about its distribution. A Brazilian study even reported the presence of a southern tiger cat in the northern part of the Brazilian Cerrado, but that is still up for debate. It has not been totally proven,” she says.

Cruz says that up to now, the confirmed distribution of the southern tiger cat has been limited to the forest corridors linking the large Atlantic Forest territory along the border areas between Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil.

Until recently, it was believed the southern tiger cat was a subspecies of the oncilla but, Cruz says, in 2013 a group of Brazilian scientists classified it as a new species based on genetic studies. The research found that the subspecies of L. trigrinus inhabiting southeastern Brazil, as well as parts of Paraguay and Argentina, lacked gene flow with its friends in northern South America. As there was also no geographic contiguity, they named the southern population L. guttulus

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Cruz’s Ph.D. thesis on medium and small felids of the Atlantic Forestsays six species of felids can coexist: the jaguar (62-92 kg or 137-203 lbs) and the cougar (Puma concolor, 36-53 kg or 79-117 lbs), considered big cats; the ocelot (6-18 kg or 13-40 lbs), considered medium-sized; and three small cats: the jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi, 3-7.6 kg or 6.6-16.7 lbs), the margay (2.3-4.9 kg or 5-10.8 lbs) and the southern tiger cat (1.7-3.5 kg or 3.7-7.7 lbs).

Despite how difficult it is to conduct research on southern tiger cats, given they are not easy to observe in the wild and they have been little studied, Cruz has taken on the challenge of searching for and learning more about them. “These cats can be active both day and night. They are also rare, elusive animals and they can be suddenly active at unpredictable times, at dawn or dusk,” says Cruz. In short, the study of this small felid is clouded in uncertainty.

Cruz is working on several projects relating to felid conservation, but her main focus is on the southern tiger cat in Misiones. So far, research carried out in various areas of the Misiones Atlantic Forest shows that the southern tiger cat looks for places where the ocelot, a larger felid with greater hunting skills, is not present.

“The ocelot displaces the southern tiger cat, and the tiger cats need the forest corridors in order to move around. But, when they can’t find these corridors, their habitat area becomes smaller and smaller,” Cruz explains. “We suspect that the ocelot, as a larger feline, could be exerting dominance.”

Two further problems lacking data

As well as deforestation and habitat loss, the southern tiger cat is experiencing two other threats in the Atlantic Forest: hunting and the belief that it is a “tamable” animal. “People often believe it is like a cat and that it can be domesticated,” says Martínez, from the Association of Mastozoology.

Over recent years, the urbanization of formerly forested regions has made the presence of humans a direct threat — and much of this threat comes from ignorance.

In 2016, Paraguay’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MADES) raided a restaurant in Asunción because the owner had several wild animal skins hanging on the walls, including two southern tiger cat skins.

In October 2018, MADES also rescued a southern tiger cat that was being kept at a home in San Bernardino, a town located about 35 km (21.7 mi) from Asunción. However, this is one of few official recorded incidents, and the institution has no records of other interventions related to the southern tiger cat.

Julio Marecos, MADES director of environmental control, says the southern tiger cat is on its list of protected species, like all wild cats in the country. Therefore, its domestication goes against the regulations in place to protect it. Marecos says there is nothing to suggest that large-scale illegal trafficking involving the southern tiger cat is taking place without the Ministry of Environment’s knowledge.

“We know when this type of trafficking is going on, thanks to our informants, and we will seize or confiscate if need be, but there have been no incidents with the southern tiger cat,” says Marecos. However, he recognizes that MADES lacks the infrastructure and technology needed to have a more informed view on the matter.

Determining the population of the southern tiger cat, at least in Paraguay, is almost an impossible task. As research into the species is scarce, there is no clear evidence. Martínez explains that this type of work requires time and significant human resources and, in this day and age, a great deal of technology — things that are not exactly in plentiful supply in Paraguay when it comes to wildlife fieldwork.

The Paraguayan government invests little or nothing in this type of research. Most projects are launched by nonprofits and are mainly funded by the private sector.

Cruz tells us of her involvement in projects such as Yaguareté in Misiones, Argentina, where they worked with satellite tracking to count jaguars and have a better insight into their population size. Cruz says she believes such work would have to be carried out with the southern tiger cat to have an approximate figure on its populations.

For now, the only thing known for sure is that the southern tiger cat achieved its greatest visibility to date in Paraguay, thanks to its connection with some sports games. While real knowledge of the species is still minimal, its home, the Atlantic Forest, continues to be lost at an alarming rate, not only in Paraguay, but also in Brazil and Argentina.

 
Banner image: Until very recently, it was believed that the southern tiger cat (Leopardus guttulus) was a subspecies of the oncilla (L. tigrinus). This shows how difficult it is to tell them apart and how little research there has been on small felids in Latin America. Image by K. Musálem via iNaturalist.

This story was reported by Mongabay’s Latam team and first published here on our Latam site on Aug. 8, 2024.