The Amazon rainforest is home to some wonderful and unique animals. There are many instantly recognizable animals that live within the Amazon rainforest, such as the rainforest's colorful macaws. There are also animals that live within the Amazon rainforest which are not as colourful, these animals blend into their rainforest environment which can make them hard to spot within the rainforest. Their elusive, solitary and often nocturnal nature, can also make these animals hard to spot within the rainforest's luscious green environment.
These animals are the Amazon rainforest's cat species.
The Amazon rainforest has several different species of cats living within it. Some of these species of cats are big cats, while other species of cats are small cats. Some of these cats are majestic and others are adorable. They bring life to the Amazon rainforest in a way that no other animals within the Amazon rainforest brings life to it, through their magical and majestic presence.
We are going to look at 5 of the Amazon rainforests amazing cat species!
Number 5: The Jaguarundi
The Jaguarundi is a small cat that is found within the Amazon rainforest today. These unique-looking cats are a bit bigger than a house cat but smaller than a Scottish Wildcat. A typical house adult cat's body length is around 46cm, and their tail is about 30cm, the body length of a Jnguarudi cat is around 70cm and their tail is at least 30cm long, and a Scottish Wildcat's body is about 98cm.
Jaguarundi cats are thankfully not endangered or vulnerable to extinction. These cats are not just widespread across the Amazon rainforest, they are also widespread across South America.
Fun fact: Jaguardui cats have 13 different ways that they express themselves vocally.
Number Four: The Ocelot
Ocelots are a species of cat which is found in the Amazon rainforest and across Northern South America. These beautiful cats are distinct with their sandy-coloured fur, with black stripes and black dots, they also have white fur underneath and on their face.
Cats are often known as animals that don't like water, but Ocelots are different. Where house cats typically are known not to like water, Ocelots are different. Not only do Ocelots like water, but they also usually live near water sources in nature and, but they are also animals that are good swimmers. These small forest-dwelling cats are known to be good swimmers.
Fun fact: Ocelots are also known as the 'painted leopard' and their scientific name is Leopardus pardalis, therefore, these small forest cats are essentially thought of as mini-leopards.
Number Three: Margay Cats
Margay cats are another cute forest-dwelling cat that can be found within the Amazon rainforest. Margay cats are now a protected species. These cute animals started to become a protected species in the 1980s when there were restrictions put in place on the trade of these cats. These cats were once hunted and killed for their fur legally before the restrictions took place. The restrictions were put in place in 1985, which meant that the fur from these animals could no longer be sold legally. Today, these beautiful cats are now mostly protected.
Fun Fact: Margay cats live an average of 12-14 years in the wild.
Number Two: Pumas
So far we have looked at the Amazon rainforests small cats, Pumas are the first big cat on our list. Pumas are one of the very few big cat species that live within the Amazon rainforest today.
These gorgeous animals are instantly recognizable with their sandy-coloured fur and a soft pink nose. Pumas are very widespread across the Americas. They are not only found within the Amazon rainforest, but they are also found throughout most of South America and a large part of North America. Due to their widespread presence in the Americas these cats are not endangered or vulnerable to extinction, they are classed as being of 'least concern' by wildlife conservationists, which means that these big cats aren't anywhere near being extinct and have a healthy population.
Fun fact: Pumas are also known by other names, such as being called Mountain Lions or Panthers.
Number One: Jaguars
Out of all of the species of cats that live within the Amazon rainforest, Jaguars are probably the most iconic and impressive of all the cat species that live within this jungle. Jaguars are known and have been caught on tape, killing powerful animals within the rainforest. These powerful animals include huge snakes like anacondas and reptiles as powerful as crocodiles.
Jaguars are the largest cat species in the Americas today. They are also the third-largest species of cat in the world today, Tigers are the largest of all of the cat species, whereas Lions are the second largest of all of the different cat species (this isn't taking into consideration the different subspecies of Tigers that exist in the wild, as subspecies, like the Siberian Tiger are bigger than Jaguars too).
Fun fact: Jaguars like water and they are fantastic swimmers.
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