New records of Leopardus tigrinus (Carnivora: Felidae) in the Department of Santander, Colombia

Leopardus tigrinus is the smallest native cat species of America. In Colombia, the species has been rarely registered in agricultural landscapes and mostly associated to highlands of natural habitats like mountain forests, cloud forests, and paramos. However, recent camera trap and incidental roadkills observations have increased the reports of this species in the country, showing that it is also living close to cities. Here, we report camera trap records of two individuals of L. tigrinus in the vicinity of Bucaramanga, Santander. This is the third and northern-most record of the species in the department of Santander. Additionally, we discuss some key local challenges for the conservation of this threatened species.

because it has recently been recorded in the least anticipated places, such as nearby big cities (Manizales: Escobar-Lasso et al. 2014, Medellín: Arias-Alzate 2014, Delgado-V 2009, Bogotá: Liévano & López-Arévalo 2014, Jimenez-Alvarado et al. 2017. Leopardus tigrinus is the smallest native cat species of America (Oliveira 2004, Payán & González-Maya 2011. It is distributed from Costa Rica to Northern Argentina, with a peripherical distribution in the Llanos region, from sea level to cloud forests and paramo (González-Maya & Schipper 2008, Payán & Oliveira 2016, Nascimento & Feijó 2017. Common names for this species include Northern Tiger Cat, Chat Tigre du Nord, Tigrillo, Oncilla, Tigrillo lanudo, and Tigrina (Payán & Oliveira, 2016). The conservation status of the Northern Tiger Cat is Vulnerable (Rodríguez Mahecha et al. 2006, Payán & Oliveira 2016, MADS 2017, a category due to be reevaluated now that its range extension has been drastically reduced, as some of its populations have been identified as a separate species (Nascimiento & Feijó 2017). In Colombia, L. tigrinus prefers highlands above 1500 m a.s.l, living in mountain forests, cloud forests, and paramos (Arias-Alzate et al. 2014). They have also been reported in agricultural landscapes and near cities (Oliveira et al. 2013). However, recent efforts with trail cameras and wildlife roadkill records have drastically increased the reports of this species in the country, from just 17 observations confirmed until 2011 (Payán-Garrido & González-Maya 2011) to dozens of records (Arias-Alzate et al. 2014, Escobar-Lasso et al. 2014, Jiménez-Alvarado et al. 2017. A map of the known records of the species in the country available in publications and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is shown in Figure 1. Here, we report new observations of L. tigrinus in the vicinity of Bucaramanga, a metropolis with more than 1.300.00 inhabitants.
The study area is a private reserve located in the Vereda Caragua, municipality of Tona, Department of Santander. This reserve is connected to the El Brasil forest, which is owned by the city's water company (Acueducto Metropolitano de Bucaramanga). The Andean Cloud forests are part of a protected land corridor formed by the Páramo of Santurbán, El Rasgón Reserve, La Judía Reserve, and Páramo of Almorzadero, in the Department of Santander. The forest corridor where the Tigrillos were recorded is embedded in a rural landscape that is crossed by roads of different order.
Two cameras (Bushnell Trophy Cam 8MP and Cuddeback Ambush 1104) on video mode were set in front of animal trails into the forest from 2015-01-18 to 2015-06-15, at the coordinates 7.14541, -73.04883 and 7.14427 and -73.04674, latitude longitude respectively ( Figure 1). The cameras were installed at 40 cm above the ground and 500m near each other. The cameras were active 24 hours a day. The total sampling effort was 149 nights for the first camera and 31 for the second one. A total of six L. tigrinus records were obtained (2015-02-15, 02:49; 2015-03-20, 05:23; 2015-03-31, 05:52; 2015-04-06, 03:16; 2015-04-09, 17:40; 2015-04-29, 18:20; Figure 2). In separate records, the individuals were foraging, smelling or defecating (video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMmgKKZ6h9Q). The coloration pattern apparently reveals two different individuals (Figure 2).  Figure 1 indicate that L. tigrinus is occupying mainly the Andean region, which is one of the areas of the country that is most populated and with the highest human footprint (Correa Ayram et al. 2020). The new observations reported herein are less than 9 km in a straight line from downtown Bucaramanga (Santander) extending the species range in Santander more than 111 km to the North-West of the nearest confirmed locality in Encino (Figure 1). FIGURE 2. Leopardus tigrinus records and potential individuals' identification using the skin spot patterns. A and C did not allow individual identification. B, D and F are the same individual due to the same spot pattern. E seems to be a different individual with a different spot pattern.
The presence of L. tigrinus populations in human dominated landscapes can lead to human-wildlife conflicts. Local farmers have reported that these Tigrillos sometimes prey on chicken and other domestic animals; the first solution that they contemplate is retaliation: poisoning or hunting the Tigrillos. In addition, there could also be negative interactions with pets like dogs and cats. However, there is no information on whether feral dogs represent a threat to L. tigrinus, as they are to other wildlife (Zapata-Ríos & Branch 2018). Similarly, it should be studied whether L. tigrinus is affected by competition with domestic cats, a species known to heavily prey on small wild animals (Loss et al. 2013).
Information about basic ecological aspects of L. tigrinus is still scarce. Most studies have focused on describing the distribution and taxonomical status of the species (Payán & Gonzalez-Maya 2011, Payán & Oliveira 2016, Escobar-Lasso et al. 2014, Arias-Alzate et al. 2017Nascimento & Feijó 2017). Camera trap surveys show a range of population densities, from absence in the Amazon or Llanos of Colombia to less than 1-5 individuals per 100 km 2 in its distribution range (Payán & Oliveira 2016). However, robust estimations of population densities for this species in human dominated landscapes are lacking. Another research gap consists on identifying how climate change affects the habitat of L. tigrinus by benefiting potential competitors. In Colombia, the current climate change scenarios predict a warming of the cordilleras (IDEAM et al. 2017), where L. tigrinus is more frequently found. These changes may benefit L. pardalis, a more common species that can compete with L. tigrinus for resources. Previous studies have shown that in areas where the distribution ranges of Leopardus tigrinus and L. pardalis coincide, L. tigrinus shows lower abundances and switches its activity pattern to a more diurnal schedule (Oliveira et al. 2010, Oliveira et al. 2013, Oliveira-Santos et al. 2012. The interaction between these two species in Colombia should be monitored to anticipate any further threats to the conservation of L. tigrinus. There is also an increase in road construction activities and in the number of vehicles in Colombia (Oxford Business Group 2020). Accordingly, there are escalating reports of L. tigrinus roadkills (Escobar-Lasso et al. 2014, Arias-Alzate et al. 2014). This species may require the implementation of infrastructure adaptations that improve the connectivity of populations living on opposite sides of the highways. Upcoming highway construction projects in the distribution range of this species should consider mitigation measurements that reduce the vulnerability of these cats to crossroads, as well as the protection of the nearest forests where this species occur.