The oncilla resembles the margay and the ocelot, but it is smaller, with a slender build and narrower muzzle. Oncillas are amongst the smallest of South America’s wild cats. These animals are often mistaken for margays or ocelots, although oncillas are smaller, they look very similar to these species. However, oncillas are slenderer and have larger ears and a narrower muzzle. Furthermore, their eyes have a more lateral location than those of the margay, and their tails are longer than an ocelot’s.
Features Of The Oncilla
- Fur – The fur is thick and soft, ranging from light brown to dark ochre, with numerous dark rosettes across the back and flanks.
- Color – They have short, thick light brown to gray fur, spotted with dark brown rosettes with a black outline.
- Eyes – Their eyes range in color from light through to dark brown.
- Undersides & Tail – The underside is pale with dark spots and the tail is ringed.
- Ears – The backs of the ears are black with bold white spots.
- Rosettes – The rosettes are black or brown, open in the center, and irregularly shaped.
- Legs – The legs have medium-sized spots tapering to smaller spots near the paws. This coloration helps the oncilla blend in with the mottled sunlight of the tropical forest understory.
- Jaw – The oncilla’s jaw is shortened, with fewer teeth, but with well-developed carnassials and canines.
- Weight & Length – It grows to 38 to 59 centimetres (15 to 23 in) long, plus a 20 to 42 centimetres (7.9 to 16.5 in) tail. While this is somewhat longer than the average domestic cat, Leopardus tigrinus is generally lighter, weighing 1.5 to 3 kilograms (3.3 to 6.6 lb).
Scientific Classification Of The Oncilla
Oncilla – Leopardus tigrinus [Scientific name]
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Mammalia
- Order: Carnivora
- Suborder: Feliformia
- Family: Felidae
- Subfamily: Felinae
- Genus: Leopardus
- Species: L. tigrinus
Habitat Of The Oncilla
Oncillas are mainly found in South America (Guyana), though small populations also live intermittently in Central America. Oncillas live as far northwards as Costa Rica and in the south as far as the very north of Argentina. They favour forest habitats and inhabit a wide range of forest ecosystems, including cloud forests, dense tropical forests, humid montane forests and humid premontane forests. They seem to be expanding into deciduous and subtropical forests, and they have successfully populated semiarid thorny scrub and savannas in Brazil. They are also found in eucalyptus monocultures and plantations. Oncillas are mainly nocturnal but in areas like Caatinga, where their diet primarily consists of diurnal lizards, these animals are more prone to be active in the daytime.
Diet Of The Oncilla
They are carnivores that mainly eat small mammals, lizards, and birds. Occasionally oncillas can prey animals larger than themselves. When preying upon birds, oncillas are capable of cleaning their prey free of feathers prior to ingestion. In some regions of their geographic range, they are known to prey upon lizards. Oncillas instantly kill their prey by piercing the back of the skull and severing the brain stem from the spinal cord.
Reproduction Of The Oncilla
Estrus lasts from 3 to 9 days, with older cats having shorter cycles. During the breeding season pairs are sometimes seen, but they are considered as highly solitary animals.
Kittens: Oncillas produce 1 to 3 kittens (usually only one), after a gestation of 74 to 76 days. The kittens’ eyes open after eight to seventeen days, an unusually long period for a cat of this size. Unlike other cats, in which the incisor teeth tend to appear first, the teeth of an oncilla kitten erupt more or less simultaneously, at around 21 days of age. The kittens do not begin to take solid food until they are 38 to 56 days old (much older than in the domestic cat), but are fully weaned at three months.
Tip: Oncillas reach sexual maturity at around two to two and a half years of age. They have a life span of about 11 years in the wild, but there are records of these cats reaching an age of 17 years.
Facts About The Oncilla
- The oncilla is a primarily terrestrial animal, but is also an adept climber.
- Like all cats, the oncilla is an obligate carnivore, requiring meat for survival.
- This cat eats small mammals, lizards, birds, eggs, invertebrates, and the occasional tree frog. Occasionally, the cat will eat grasses.
- The oncilla stalks its prey from a distance, and once in range, it pounces to catch and kill the prey.
- Young oncillas have been observed to purr, while adults are known to make short, gurgling calls when close to one another.
- The oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus) is also known as the northern tiger cat, little spotted cat, and tigrillo.
- It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because the population is threatened by deforestation and conversion of habitat to agricultural land.
- Males in the wild can be very aggressive towards females.
- One fifth of oncillas are totally black. These ones usually inhabit the denser parts of the forests.
- Kittens open their eyes when they are 7 to 18 days old and unlike many species of cat, oncillas are good swimmers.
Oncillas In Guyana
As you would have read, the oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus) or Tiger Cat, is a small spotted felid found in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America (Guyana). It is a close relative of the Ocelot and the Margay, and has a rich ochre coat, spotted with black rosettes. Oncillas are often mistaken for ocelots and margays but they are different in many ways. The oncillas eyes are located more laterally than those of margays and they have longer tails than the ocelots. Also, the skulls of oncillas are less robust than those of margays. Moreover, the oncillas are amongst the smallest of the South America’s wild cats.
Article References:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oncilla
- http://animalia.bio/oncilla
- https://wildcatsmagazine.nl/wild-cats/tiger-catoncilla-leopardus-tigrinus/
- https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Leopardus_tigrinus/
- https://iwokrama.org/mammals/guides/carn1.html
- Main Image: By Groumfy69 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32079445
