Common Name(s): Andean Cat, Andean Highland Cat
Scientific Name: Leopardus jacobita
Weight: 8-15 pounds
Head/Body: 23 inches
Tail: 14 inches
Subspecies: 1
Gestation: Unknown
Status: Endangered
Estimated World Population: No information available
The Andean cat is similar to a cat in size and build. Its coat is of a very fine silky texture, about two inches in length, and of a pale silver or reddish-grey color fading to white on the undersides. It has faint brown or ocher tabby-like markings on its body and flanks which may darken to almost black on its undersides and legs. Its tail is ringed with dark brown or black, with the tip always the body color. Its ears are grey.
The Andean cat may be found in arid regions of the high Andes, sometimes above the snow line, of Peru and northern Chile and Bolivia and Argentina, where it hunts by day, fand preys on chinchilla, viscacha, and other small mammals.