Designed by Paul Smith 2006. This website is copyrighted by law.
Material contained herewith may not be used without the prior written permission of FAUNA Paraguay.
Photographs on this web-site were taken by Paul Smith, Hemme Batjes, Regis Nossent,
Alberto Esquivel, Arne Lesterhuis, José Luis Cartes, Rebecca Zarza and Hugo del Castillo and are used with their permission.
FELIDAE - CATS
Eight species of muscular, powerful and highly carnivorous predators. Cats are supreme hunters, agile climbers, excellent swimmers and fantastic jumpers. The canines are large are viciously-curved, used to kill prey with a bite to the head or neck, or to fasten onto the snout of larger prey, eventually suffocating it. The tongue is equipped with sharp papillae, giving a rough, sandpaper-like texture that is used to strip flesh from a kill. The snout is short and the skull rounded. There are five toes on the forefeet (though the first digit does not bear the weight of the animal) and four toes on the hindfeet. Claws are retractile and powerfully-curved and are not visible in prints. The eyes are forward-facing with a vertical pupil. They possess excellent binocular vision and highly-developed senses of smell and hearing. Cats are furtive, solitary and usually territorial. In general they are nocturnal, giving strong eyeshine at night.
REFERENCES
Diaz MM & Barquez RM 2002 - Los Mamíferos de Jujuy, Argentina - LOLA
Emmons LH & Feer F 1999 - Mamíferos de los Bosques Húmedos de América Tropical - FAN Bolivia
Redford K 1992 - Mammals of the Neotropics Vol 2: The Southern Cone Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay - University of Chicago Press.
