10/15/2025
Pantanal Cat (Leopardus colocola braccatus)
The Pantanal cat is a small wild cat native to the Pantanal wetlands and surrounding regions of central South America, including Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and parts of Bolivia and Paraguay.
It inhabits diverse habitats such as grasslands, shrublands, savannas, deciduous and dense forests and even agricultural lands, showing some tolerance for human disturbance.
About the size of a domestic cat, it has brown agouti fur on its back with a darker spinal crest, distinct dark transverse lines on its cheeks, reddish based ears bordered with black and black tipped tail and paws.
It is a solitary and diurnal carnivore that preys on small mammals, birds, lizards and snakes. The Pantanal cat maintains home ranges between 3 and 37 square kilometers.
Conservation concerns include habitat loss, persecution, road kills, and predation by domestic dogs, with its overall status linked closely to that of the Pampas cat complex.