Small Cat Spotlight: Oncilla

The eighth installment of our Small Cat Spotlight focuses on two of the world’s small wild cats that bear a striking resemblance to one another: the northern oncilla and the southern tiger cat. For these two small cats that are native to the Americas, conservation is a priority. Read on to learn more about their ecology, anatomy and the threats to their survival.

Description:

Oncillas are some of the smallest species of wild cats to inhabit the Americas. There are two species: the northern oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus) and the southern tiger cat (Leopardus guttulus), separated by geography. These two species are thought to have diverged over 100,000 years ago. A third oncilla species, the clouded tiger cat (Leopardus pardinoides) has been proposed but is yet to be confirmed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Both species are richly adorned with black-brown spots on a pale brown to reddish fur. Each species is very close in size and closely resembles one another, with northern oncillas weighing, on average, 2-3 kg (4-6 lbs.) and southern tiger cats weighing 1-3 kg (2-6 lbs.).

These cats can also be melanistic (having a dark, black pigmentation). In fact, recent Panthera studies with partner and PhD candidate, Amaia Autor (University of Montana) have extensively followed melanistic oncillas in Costa Rica named Sigiloso and Calcetines.

Range:

Northern oncillas and southern tiger cats are separated by their respective range. Northern oncillas inhabit parts of Colombia, northern Brazil, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and Argentina, in addition to an isolated population in Costa Rica and northern Panama. Southern tiger cats are isolated from this species, with their range stretching over much of southern Brazil into parts of Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina.

Both northern oncillas and southern tiger cats occur in varied habitats. These cats can live in all forest types, beaches, savannas and scrublands. However, southern tiger cats are thought to be more forest-dwelling than their northern cousins. Both species live near human communities, highlighting the importance of fostering human-cat coexistence for these animals.

Ecology: 

Because of their small size, oncillas generally consume very small prey. This includes small rodents, birds and reptiles. These small cats are primarily nocturnal and crepuscular (active during dusk and dawn) hunters.

Oncilla lifestyles are difficult to study. Studies on their lifespan vary, with one female known to live up to 17 years old in captivity. These cats are likely naturally rare across their range, in comparison to the other small wild cats that live alongside them like ocelots, margays and jaguarundis. Interestingly, because ocelots compete with oncillas for prey and sometimes even predate on oncillas themselves, research indicates that oncilla density rises where ocelot densities are lower.

Threats and Panthera’s Impact:

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species classifies both northern oncillas and southern tiger cats as Vulnerable with a decreasing population trend. This makes them two of the highest-priority species for worldwide wild cat conservation. Like many other small cats in the Americas, they are primarily threatened by habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict, while they are occasionally harvested by humans for their skins.

Panthera’s impact starts at this human-wildlife interface. We partner with Amaia Autor in Costa Rica to fit oncillas with GPS collars and learn more about their behavior, range, ecology and threats. Combined with anti-predation fences we install at Costa Rican farms, Panthera helps prevent retaliation against oncillas which may try to take small domestic prey. Our research will also measure the danger that the Pan-American Highway poses to oncillas and other wildlife species. Each year, cars hit scores of wild cats including jaguars, pumas, ocelots, jaguarundis, margays and oncillas on this bustling roadway. Panthera’s Wild Cats Friendly Roads Project make it their mission to mitigate this problem, ultimately helping Costa Rican government make important conservation decisions such as installing wildlife underpasses.

That’s two for the price of one — two new small cat species you can tell your friends about! Make sure to read our other Small Cat Spotlights on bobcats, Pallas’s cats, fishing cats and more by checking out our Small Cat Spotlight Collection.