How many kodkods are left in the world 2022?

by Michael Broad · April 25, 2022

The decreasing population of mature individual kodkods is estimated to be between 5,980-92,092. Judging by the dramatic range of the estimate it is clear to me that the experts don’t know the population of mature individual kodkods as at 2022. It also has to be said that this estimate is dated April 20, 2014. There has been no subsequent estimate on the primary site for publishing population size estimates of the wild species namely the Red List.

Kodkod Cat Facts For Kids

The picture, therefore, is poor, to put it mildly in respect of estimating the number of kodkods left in the world 2022. In terms of survivability to avoid extinction, this small wild cat species is considered to be Vulnerable to use the terminology of the Red List.

That is somewhere in between the worst and best categories. You can see the category banding below.

IUCN Red List Categories

They state that the current main threats for the kodkod, which, incidentally, is probably better called the guiña, include fragmentation and loss of habitat together with direct persecution by people. The scientific name is: Leopardus guigna.

This cat lives in Chile and in that country there is deforestation and its increasing. Deforestation across the globe is increasing year-on-year. It is not abating and it is destroying the forest-dwelling wild cat species.

Kodkod. Image in public domain.

For example, in respect of the kodkod, this cat inhabits the Chilean Matorral ecosystem. In this area half the country’s human population live. No surprise, therefore, that the kodkod’s habitat is being destroyed because of conversion to agricultural land. Habitat conversion in other areas of Chile is a pressing threat to this cat species. In Chilean temperate forests between the period 1975-2000, there was an estimated 4.5% annual loss in forest cover which amounted to an overall reduction of 67% of forest. Say no more.

The kodkod is losing its home and this is not stopping and it won’t stop. There is no doubt in my mind that without some urgent decisions by the Chilean government the kodkod is destined to be reclassified downwards to ultimately critically endangered and thereafter probably extinction in the wild.

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