Kodkod is just the cutest little thing, and that little face is just so adorable. A kodkod also goes by the name local güiña, and there are two subspecies of them: northern güiña and southern güiña. What does a little wild cat usually do? You will find out more about a kodkod’s appearance, behavior, and many other things below.
1Appearance
Kodkod is the smallest cat species in the Americas, growing up to only around 25 centimeters at shoulder height. A kodkod has a brownish-yellow to gray-brown or reddish-brown fur, with dark spots all over. Its face is characteristically marked; there is a black line from each eye that crosses the cheek. It also has another solid black stripe that rises vertically on either side of the nose to the crown. However, each of its round little ears is black, and it has a white spot instead. It has a small head, large feet, and a thick tail that is around 20 to 25 centimeters long.
2Behavior
What’s interesting about a kodkod is that it is active both during the day and night. Usually, kodkod rests in dense vegetation in ravines, along streams with heavy cover during the day. However, it only goes into open terrain when the night comes. Kodkods also have the tendency to climb when trying to find shelter, get away from predators, or look for prey. These small cats are solitary, and they only come together to mate.
3Feeding & Habitats
You see those little feet? They are not just for show; these feet have large claws that allow a kodkod to climb trees effortlessly. Their excellent ability to climb benefits them as they catch some nice meals both in trees and on the ground. Not to mention their excellent hearing and sense of smell, hunting is not difficult for them. Kodkods feed on birds, lizards, and rodents, as well as local animals such as austral thrush, chucao tapaculo, huet-huet, etc. If the opportunity allows, they will also feed on domestic geese and chicken as well.
Native to the Americas, kodkod lives in a wide variety of habitats from coastal ranges to mixed temperate rainforests. They only occur in Central and Southern Chile, with marginal populations in adjoining areas of Argentina. These adorable cats prefer evergreen temperate rainforest habitats to temperate moist forests, sclerophyllous scrubs, and coniferous forests. On top of having the smallest distribution of any cat in the Americas, kodkod has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Their number has been threatened by logging that affects their natural habitats, and killing by domestic dogs. Some other threats are direct persecution by humans and run over by automobiles. Before, humans hunted them for their fur, but their small size made them less popular among hunters.
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