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Oncilla

Oncillas (Leopardus tigrinus) are among the smallest wild cats of South American, they are just a tad bigger than the Asian Flat Headed Cat. An Oncilla would weigh on the average 2 to 3 kgs. The Oncilla opts for the high-elevation forests, and in Columbia, they only stay in places above 1,500m.

It has a magnificent coat, colored tan, adorned with symmetrical patterns. They have round eyes, and they have golden irises, which may be either beautiful or scary, depending on the person looking. They are in part arboreal, and they use their pronounced long tails to balance during climbin.

An Oncilla's diet consists of primates, rodents, insects, birds and the indigenous reptiles. In coffee plantations, these cats have been studied. From the observations, it has been speculated that they are more able to cope with mankind's acts more than the very shy Kodkods. The male is territorial. Very few of them actually are held in zoos, and from records, they breed poorly when under captivity.

The Oncilla's gestation period is 74 to 76 days, and a cub reaches maturity from six to eight months. Longevity is about a decade to fourteen years, but this is for those living at the wild habitat. Those in captivity live much longer, about 23 years (!).

As I have mentioned, they have a beautiful coat, and this fur is the reason why they have become a favorite target in South American territories. This hunting still persists at present, although due to strict legislations, they have lessened dramatically. Another reason for the decreasing of their numbers is the ever-present deforestation.

Interesting fact: It has a friendly call, it sounds just like a gurgle, and can travel only a short distance.

Picture of the oncilla by mottazoo, licensed under Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic

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five comments:

Wild cats are so cute…too bad they don’t make good pets.
matt (Email) (URL) - 28 03 08 - 14:56

Thanks for your site, and for getting info out about some wonderful creatures who need we humans to advocate for them.
Ally - 28 03 08 - 16:15

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CUTE I REPEAT SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Morgan (Email) - 29 03 08 - 14:59

what a beautiful cat and the way it looks at you, very nice and attractive and hope they can domesticate it so that I can have it as a pet, thank you.
shirin al zebari (Email) - 29 03 08 - 17:29

I notice a lot of the comments mentioning wanting this cat as a pet – try looking at the “Genet”. It is like a cross between a weasel and this cat and is ABSOLUTELY gorgeous!!! They can be found at pet shops that carry exotic pets, and from what I understand, make pretty good pets (although they do maintain their “wildness” and are high strung because of it). I don’t condone keeping wild animals as pets BUT I totally understand the attraction!!!!
Marilyn (Email) - 18 05 08 - 07:20

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