- The southern tiger feline (Leopardus guttulus) is at terrific danger due to the ruthless damage of its environment, generally brought on by logging.
- Its circulation is restricted to the Atlantic Forest, in locations surrounding Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina and part of Bolivia; the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has actually categorized the southern tiger feline as susceptible, however in Paraguay its scenario is more important, where it is threatened.
- Little is understood about its population size and habits– in reality, little is learnt about the types at all; simply 10 years back, it was still thought about a subspecies of the oncilla (L. tigrinus).
In October 2022, Paraguay hosted the ODESUR South American Games for the very first time. The occasion showed a terrific success, and from the start, individuals gathered to the video games, mainly thanks to the animal that was picked to be the competitors’s uncommon mascot– the southern tiger feline (Leopardus guttulus.
This lovely however obscure animal rapidly endeared itself to the general public, and the regional media fasted to report on where it lives, what type of feline it is and the growing issues with its environment. The ODESUR Games highlighted that, although picking the southern tiger feline as a sports mascot may appear uncommon, so little is learnt about it.
A little bigger than a domestic feline, this yellow-toned, black-spotted felid lurks the Atlantic Forest that extends from Paraguay to Argentina and Brazil, even reaching the easternmost idea of Bolivia. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) states its overall population is around 6,000, and notes the animal as susceptible.
The primary hazard throughout the Atlantic Forest is massive logging, describes Víctor Martínez, a scientist, member of the Paraguayan Association of Mastozoology and supervisor of secured locations with the Itaipú Dam, a hydroelectric plant shared by Paraguay and Brazil. As is the case with all little felids in the area, not much research study has actually been carried out on the southern tiger feline.
Up until extremely just recently, it was thought the southern tiger feline (Leopardus guttulus) was a subspecies of the oncilla (L. tigrinus). This demonstrates how tough it is to inform them apart and how little research study there has actually been on little felids in Latin America. Image by K. Musálem by means of iNaturalist. The Atlantic Forest’s 3 little, spotted felids
Among the couple of certainties about the southern tiger feline is that it shares its home in Paraguay’s Atlantic Forest with 2 other little, spotted felids. “We have the Leopardus guttuluswhich is the southern tiger feline, and after that there is the Leopardus wiedii (margay) and the Leopardus pardalis (ocelot). Frequently, all 3 are described as the southern tiger feline, however that is inaccurate,” states Martínez.
They are not constantly simple to inform apart at very first glimpse, each types has its own private qualities.
