The Pampas cat (Leopardus pajeros) is a small feline from Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and possibly far southwestern Colombia. It is named after the Pampas, but occurs in grassland, shrubland, and dry forest at elevations up to 5,000 metres (16,000 ft).
It has traditionally been included in the colocolo (L. colocolo), but was split primarily based on differences in pelage colour/pattern and cranial measurements. The split is not supported by genetic work, leading some authorities to maintain it as a subspecies of the colocolo. Confusingly, when the colocolo includes the Pampas cat and Pantanal cat as subspecies, the "combined" species is sometimes referred to as the Pampas cat.
Pampas cats have not been studied much in the wild and little is known about their hunting habits. There have been reports of the cat hunting rodents and birds at night, and also hunting domestic poultry near farms.
Read more about Pampas Cat: Subspecies, Habitat, Description, References
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