The Critically Endangered Pampa Cat (Leopardus munoai) on the Brink of Extinction in Brazil: The Little We Know and an Action Plan to Try to Save It

Abstract

Leopardus munoai, the Pampa cat, is a small felid (ca. 3–4 kg) recently separated from the Leopardus colocola complex. This Pampa cat is endemic to the Pampas grasslands of Uruguay, western Argentina and southernmost Brazil. Originally, the Pampas had a long history of extensive cattle ranching; however, its fields have been exponentially converted mostly to soy fields in the last five decades. Species distribution models have shown a reduction in their area (1997–2022) of 42%, with only 31,808 km2 of suitable habitat remaining. Despite the Brazilian Pampas being surveyed in their entirety, no records of this felid have ever been repeated at the same site in different years since 1997 (50,000 trap-nights; >400,000 km of highway day/night crossing). This effort generated only 32 records (17 road-kills). Despite the huge detection efforts, there has never been a confirmed resident population detected anywhere. The scenario that unfolds is of an extremely rare felid that seems to use the vanishing native herbaceous fields, which are dependent upon cattle grazing, in replacement of the original (now extinct) grazing megafauna. With an expected population of 45–50 individuals, which has become virtually extinct in its original eastern portion, all signs point towards imminent extinction.