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Among the dense vegetation and mist, the cloud cats, kings of the forest, move in silence, stealthy and majestic like invisible guardians of the mountains. Felines, of the Felidae family, are large, wild cats, hunting and carnivorous mammals, who are distributed over almost all the planet, except for a few islands. The great majority of them are in serious danger of extinction.
Discovering the Elusive Cloud Cats of Mashpi Reserve
En Ecuador there are seven species of this family of carnivores, six of which can be found in the Mashpi reserve. Is it extremely difficult to see them live and to stand a chance, much patience is needed as well as a huge dollop of luck. For these are expert predators, all their senses – like their retractable claws – are always on edge and they prefer to stay hidden behind a curtain of mist.
En el Chocó, estas especies han ido desapareciendo ya que han sido cazadas por sus pieles y eliminadas por el miedo y la ignorancia. Sumado a esto, los bosques son cada vez más fragmentados, dejándolos sin alimento y abrigo.
The puma (Puma concolor), also known among the cloud cats as the largest cat in the northeast (before it was the jaguar, but its populations have disappeared in the zone), is the owner and lord of the reserve, and is also the most territorial. Of all the felines in the zone, and particularly among the cloud cats, it is the puma that can occupy the most habitats, from the mountain to the river, from the understory to the highest branches of the trees. It is also the cat that can travel the largest distance, boasting a range of 17 square km, marking its reign among the elusive cloud cats of the forest.
En Mashpi, a través del proyecto de cámaras trampa, se ha logrado identificar a un macho, y se estima que, junto con él, viven 4 pumas dentro de la reserva, alimentándose de venados, guantas, pecaríes, entre otras cosas.
Otro gato que recorre los bosques de niebla de Mashpi Lodge es el ocelote (Leopardus pardalis), sigiloso, nocturno, sumamente bello con su piel manchada. Este gato mediano es un excelente cazador de roedores como las guatusas, ratones y ardillas, y también de aves y serpientes. Terrestre, pero con la habilidad de trepar árboles, este hermoso solitario cubre también extensiones grandes de tierra, con un rango de vida de 11 km cuadrados. Está amenazado, es objetivo de cazadores para el comercio ilegal de su piel y cuando, desesperado por la pérdida de hábitat, busca alimento en gallineros, es sacrificado.
