Colocolo

		Colocolo
		He is a wild animal


Origin			South America
Translation			Francis Vandersteen

The possession of this animal is not authorized Royal Decree establishing the list of mammals not kept for production purposes that may be kept (M.B. 24.08.2009)

The Colocolo, also known as the Pampas Cat, is one of South America's most widespread felines. It frequents a wide variety of habitats. Of course, it can be found in the grassy highlands of South America, in the pampas, to which it owes its other name, Pampas Cat. But the Colocolo is also found in the dry forests of the south of the continent (chaco, cerrado). In the Andes mountains, Colocolo has also been seen up to 5000 meters, although it prefers to stay at lower altitudes (in northern Argentina, below 3500 meters).

The Colocolo is not threatened by hunting, although it enjoys no protection in Brazil and Ecuador. Killing it is illegal in the rest of its range, except in Peru, where it is strictly controlled. But the Colocolo is rarely hunted, as its fur is of little interest. The main threat to this small cat is the disappearance of its habitat. The South American grasslands where most Colocolos live (pampas, cerrado) are disappearing at an even faster rate than the Amazon rainforest, being used for agriculture or cattle breeding. The Colocolo is becoming less and less conspicuous. On average, it appears in only 2% of the images taken by camera traps, which is not very many.

The Colocolo is a small feline, not much bigger than a domestic cat. It is the 4th smallest wild cat in South America, after its close cousins the kodkod, oncilla and margay, and is similar in stature to its closest relative, the Andean cat, although a little stockier. The Colocolo is 70 cm to 1.05 m long, with a tail of 20 to 35 cm, and 30 to 35 cm at the withers. It can weigh from 3 to 7 kg.

The Colocolo has a very thick coat, which is particularly impressive when it bristles, forming a mane on the little feline's back. This coat varies impressively from region to region. All have identical facial markings: the back of the ears and the base of the vibrissae are darker than the base of the coat, 2 dark lines adorn the cheeks, one starting from the corner of the eyes. Chin and muzzle are white. Apart from this, there are 2 main types: plain and spotted.

For the plain-coated Colocolo, the ground color is mostly gray-brown to russet. The tips of the legs and tail are black, and black stripes adorn the tops of the legs. The body may have blurred spots. There is also a grayer variant with reddish-brown markings, and another, also rather gray, with only a few black stripes on the legs.

In the case of the Spotted Colocolo, the ground color is mostly gray to tawny-gray, with more or less distinct reddish-brown spots stretching horizontally along the flanks. The legs are striped with the same color and the tail is ringed. In the gray-brown, sometimes gray variant, the spots are smaller and tend more towards black.