17 July 2018

Cat ID assistance

I’m hoping for help with an ID.

I’ve just returned from a trip to Ecuador. At San Isidro, a private reserve on the eastern Andean slopes (approx. 2000m, cloudforest, nearest towns Baeza and Cossanga) we saw a cat cross the road at
around 19:00 and then hunker down in thick vegetation. It was mostly grey, possibly with some striping and impressions were larger than a domestic cat. Its face didn’t look right for domestic cat. Please see the only photos I could get. The lodge manager insisted on Jaguarundi,  but I don’t think so. Could this be a Pampas Cat, something else or just a very strange domestic cat?

Thanks in advance
JamesSa Isidro cat (1) Sa Isidro cat (2) Sa Isidro cat (3) Sa Isidro cat (4) Sa Isidro cat (5) Sa Isidro cat (6)

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7 Comments

  • 17 July 2018
    Leslie Sokolow

    I agree with your assessment.

  • 17 July 2018
    Steve Morgan

    Pampas Cat seems plausible. The facial markings, grey coat and banding on the legs support that ID. Shame we can’t see the tail. Could be a domestic cat of course,(especially if human habitation is nearby). But definitely not a Jaguarundi.

  • 17 July 2018
    Fiona Reid

    I agree with Steve although lean a bit more toward domestic cat.
    Fiona

  • 17 July 2018
    Roylesafaris

    I have just come back from spotlighting in San Isidro and saw this cat, in the clear and it’s a domestic cat. 100% there were 2 or 3 hanging around.

  • 17 July 2018
    James Harvey

    Thanks very much guys! Alright then, a domestic cat, that was my initial thought, but then the exotic location started people wondering. Thank again.

  • 17 July 2018
    Miles Foster

    Interesting discussion – I am no expert but glad to have my own hunch confirmed – it does have the air of a domestic cat that has been disturbed while out hunting. Surprised the lodge manager thought it was a jaguarundi…

  • 17 July 2018
    Alvaro Jaramillo

    Hi there. I just asked my buddy Mitch Lysinger who is perhaps the person who knows the most about wildlife at San Isidro. He says it is a domestic cat, and that they see them there from time to time.

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