News and Testimonials

“The Ghost of the Andes”, and the Cordoba Photographer who got him.

“The Ghost of the Andes”, and the Cordoba Photographer who got him.

His name is Hernán Rojo and he came across this endangered species that can rarely be photographed by the “trap cameras”. In this piece, he tells us how this finding went.


January 4, 2023

It’s small, sneaky, and a great camouflage master. To follow the steps of the Andean Cat, or “ghost of the andes”, it’s a whole challenge for the scientific world in Argentina, and for all of those who dedicate their lives to conservationism.

This species is in great danger of extinction in our country and finding it is one of the hardest things to accomplish, since their habitat is commonly 5,000 meters above sea level, in the Andes mountain range of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru.

The Leopardus Jacobita is one of the felines less studied in the world, its preservation is a complete challenge and for that, it’s one of the species found on the red list of the International Union for the Protection of Nature for animals in danger of extinction. 

For this reason, the finding of this photographer from Cordoba is more than extraordinary, since he was able to get him with his camera while he was on a birding excursion.

“On December 25, I was in Salta, looking for birds of the Puna, in the area of ??Abra de Lizotte. It was a path of many kilometers in which we would stop from time to time to watch and photograph birds.” says Hernan Rojo. (@hernan_rojo_ on Instagram)

“The weather was very unstable, suddenly sunny, then cloudy, the wind was blowing like the one in Patagonia, it stopped, a mist descended like a wall, and then it went away...in short, you had all the climates within an hour”. 

“At 6 o’clock, when we were about to start coming down from the mountain and call it a day, Martin Toledo (Beagle International’s Birding specialist) distinguished 3 animals running, first two chinchillas, and a few meters behind a third animal” explained.

And then came the part that nobody was expecting “It was nothing less than an Andean cat that was trying to hunt them. He immediately called me because I was photographing birds and luckily I managed to get a few shots of him before he got lost in the mist.”. Hernán Rojo

He did not hide his joy “It was a unique moment! We knew that what we had seen was unrepeatable due to the scarcity of this animal and the few records that exist in our country, most of them made with 'camera traps' (automatic device with a motion sensor used to capture photographic images of animals in the wild ) but we were able to observe it with our own eyes and I was able to photograph it at the moment before it honors its nickname "The Ghost of the Andes" getting lost in the mist”

Andean Cat

The cat of the Andes maintains a very intimate relationship with the native communities and is considered a sacred species. 

This animal, which reaches the size of a domestic cat and does not exceed 6 kilos, is also known as “Titi” from the Aymaras and the Quechuas call him “Chinchay”. 

For the native people of the region, this cat represents fertility and protection of the land. In ancient times, people venerated it by having its skin decorated with symbols of abundance such as coca leaves, ears of corn. 

The Cat of the Andes has been seen on very few occasions, and it is perhaps for this reason that the cultures of the mid-15th century have related its spontaneous presence as a symbol of protection. 

Loss of their habitat, traditional hunting, the prevalence of infections from domestic dogs and cats are the main threats to the Andean cat.

Due to the adversities suffered by its species, the multinational group Alianza Gato Andino (AGA) emerged in 1999, which has the mission of developing the technology to locate and preserve this species in South American lands.

The strategy for the preservation of this species, the AGA specified that in the last 20 years great advances have been made to protect the Andean cat and his habitat.

and the objective is to cover  the areas of research, education, conservation and management in the four countries where the alliance is present.

 

Source: Impactante: fotógrafo cordobés logró captar a un gato andino, el “Fantasma de los Andes” (lavoz.com.ar)

Gallery

Other News and Testimonials