Updating records of a threatened felid species of the Argentinian Patagonia: the Guigna Leopardus guigna (Molina, 1782) (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) in Los Alerces National Park

Abstract

The Guigna Leopardus guigna is an endemic felid of the Valdivian Temperate Forests in Argentina and Chile, and of the Chilean Matorral ecoregion. It is a small-sized felid (1.6—2.5 kg), one of the least known wild felids, and categorized as Vulnerable to extinction. Here, we present two new reliable records in Los Alerces National Park, Chubut Province, Argentina, the southernmost protected area, in which the species is present. The first record is an individual found dead on 6 June 2019 on the bank of Frey River near Amutui Quimei Lake. The second record was an individual casually captured in an American Mink Neovison vison cage on 7 December 2019 near Menendez Lake. Both records were in forested Nothofagus sites very nearby to watercourses. In order to maintain viable long-term Guigna populations, corridors between protected areas should be established, particularly in habitat dominated by human presence and activities. We strongly recommend further fieldwork in protected areas and between them to increase the knowledge about the distribution, habitat use, and ecology of the Guigna.