Get to know the Kodkod !
The project aims to address conservation issues facing the Kodkod, or Güiña (Leopardus guigna) from the biological (e.g. presence, occupancy, health status, diet) and human dimension (e.g. education, knowledge and perception). Through the camera trapping monitoring scheme we are obtaining presence data from Continuous forest (>100ha) and small fragments (<20ha). The scheme considers sampling during the whole year in 27 camera sites. Habitat evaluation (i.e. forest composition and structure) has been conducted at each site to explore species-habitat relationships. In areas where we have confirmed presence of Güiña a live trapping effort is underway to asses the health status of individuals present in Continuous forest compared to small fragments. Also scats are being collected for diet analysis. To address the human dimension we have conducted a pilot study with 60 interviews to local farmers near our study sites to see attacks on family run poultry production. Results show that less than 1% has suffered an attack in the last years. We believe that negative perceptions are based more on an almost mythological image than reality, encouraged by stories of neighbors or events that occurred years ago. Most adults and their children have never seen a Güiña and are very surprised when we tell them that we have confirmation from our cameras that the species is present in the forest neighboring their farms. Another set of interviews is underway to further explore the perception towards the species. A repeated story is that the Güiña when chased out of the chicken coup, climbs and stays in a near by tree. It seems that this typical behavior of cats when in danger has facilitated farmers killing animals. The same behavior was witnessed from a personal experience of an attack (yes, the Güiña did kill my chickens); although I immediately understood that it was my fault because of a poorly sealed chicken house. This is probably not the general rational thinking of farmers after an attack, especially if poultry is an important source of income or protein. The educational strategy involves workshops with farmers and activities with school children. The workshops will describe proper construction of chicken coups and management of poultry to lessen probabilities of attacks. Also, we will emphasize the role of the Güiña as a rodent predator, and to some extent of Oligorizomys longicaudatus, main vector of the deadly Hanta virus. School children will have a hands-on experience with the species by taking them to the reproduction and rescue center Fauna Andina (www.fauna-andina.org). Rural school children will have a unique opportunity to see and interact with the species they have only heard stories about from their elders. The main goal is to motivate children about the importance of the species in the ecosystem and to emphasize its uniqueness. The goal is that these children become “Ambassadors” of the species in their communities and take the role of main speakers at educational talks in their schools. We want to promote the Güiña cat in a positive way through conservation oriented research and outreach to make sure that people get to know and learn about a species that is unique in the world and part of our natural heritage.
This project receives additional funding from the Environmental Agency of Chile CONAMA (FPA 2008).
Guina project
To learn and educate about the habits of this endemic felid, the smallest in South America
