Conservation
In 2002 the status of the Andean cat was moved from Vulnerable to Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Due to the Andean cat's habitat being spread across four countries, biologists have attempted to collaborate in efforts to protect the species. One of the groups formed was the Andean Cat Conservation Committee, now known as the Andean Cat Alliance. The table below was taken directly from the most current strategy plan for 2011-2016.
| Priority | Direct Threat | Indirect Threat | Intervention |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Habitat Loss | Various forms of land use including mining, and water extraction, potentially increased by climate change. | Creation of protected areas and consolidation or improvement of existing ones; obeying with government and the industry sector; implementation of existing legislation; involvement of local communities on conservation and land use decisions; research on desertification processes affecting the Andean cat. |
| 2 | Habiat degradation | Inappropriate pastoralist and agricultural practices; unregulated tourism; mining, oil/gas extraction; unregulated use of water. | Working with communities to improve livestock management; lobbying with governments, industries and local communitites to regulate tourist activities; implementation of existing legislation; implementation of water management plans when existing; research on the impacts of habitat degradation on Andean Cat population. |
| 3 | Opportunistic/Palliative Hunting | Conflicting with small livestock breeding; lack of knowledge of the species by local community member; presence of dogs, incidental capture | Conflict mitigation, community education, implementation of existing legislation; research on the most effective methods to mitigate conflicts and improvement of perception of the species by local people. |
| 4 | Traditional Hunting | Religious use of skins or taxidermy, hunting due to traditional beliefs | Community education; rekindling of traditional knowledge. |
| 5 | Reduction of prey populations | Hunting, presence of domestic dogs | Community education; implementation of existing legislation; research on predator-prey dynamics |
| 6 | Introduction of diseases | Dogs and cats as reservoirs and/or vectors | Research to determine the true extent of this threat |
| 7 | Hybridization | Sympatric with phylogenetically related species (L. colocolo) | Research to determine the true extent of this threat. |
Read more about this topic: Andean Mountain Cat
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