ServalsRule

Serval Conservation - Lesser Felids

Kodkod or Huina
Oncifelis guigna



Weight: 4.5 lbs 
Head/Body: 18 inches 
Tail: 8 in.
Subspecies: 2

The range of the Kodkod, or Huina, is restricted to Chile and parts of Argentina. Having a body length of about 20 inches and weighing as little as 5 lbs., it is the smallest cat in the Americas. A Kodkod is nocturnal and arboreal (inhabiting or frequenting trees).

Usually a Kodkod's ears are black with light spots. The kodkod has a base coat color that ranges from grey brown to reddish brown and is marked with small dark spots. Of the two species of kodkod, O.g.guigna (found in the southern part of its range) is smaller in body size and more brightly colored, whereas O.g.tigrillo (found to the north of Chile) is distinct in having no spot markings on its feet, and more often than not a paler coat color. Melanistic (black) varieties have been observed in both species. According to some experts, these cats might be a subspecies of the Geoffroy's Cat.

They are known to survive on birds, rodents and other small mammals. The gestation lasts from 72 days all the way to 78. Litters can run from 1 to 3 offspring. "Kodkod" may have initially been referred to as the Pampas cat (O. colocolo). The latter was referred to as Guigna by the Chileans.

The Chilean cat, or kodkod, is listed as Vulnerable (VU), and considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild, on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.