The zoo has received a rescued Andean cat, a young male, for rehabilitation and release. As far as we know, this is the first time in the history of the world that an Andean cat has been held in captivity (even if it is temporary). Por primera vez el zoológico recibe un gato andino, especie en peligro de extinción - La Razn
Big news! Actually it's not the first time, it's been held in three collections in Europe, and Philadelphia hold the captive longevity record for the species (2 months).
Wow, I was unaware of these previous holdings. And thanks to Devilfish for pointing me to the original article I linked.
I've seen a couple of mentions of captive longevity being one year but with no further information on where or when.
I think part of the issue might be historical differentiation between the Andean cat and some colocolo subspecies. The one year reference seems to be attributed to Weigel's chapter 'Small felids and clouded leopards' in Grzimek’s animal life encyclopedia (1975). The two month record I mentioned was from 'Longevity of Mammals in Captivity; From the Living Collections of the World' (R. Weigl, 2005). Hopefully someone else might have more information.
La Paz Municipal Government have been posting a few updates of the cat on facebook; first under anaesthetic, and then an astounding series of photos: https://www.facebook.com/MunicipioLaPaz/posts/1021689231234620 https://www.facebook.com/MunicipioLaPaz/posts/1025228210880722 What I find ridiculous are the comments below; even though this was a confiscated and injured animal which has received excellent care from the zoo and they will be releasing it shortly, there are still so many people crying out about zoos - saying it should have stayed in the wild and criticising everyone involved. The second photo links to an article stating that the three-year-old cat is healthy, behaving appropriately and seems to be doing well: http://gph.to/1SgkMWA
'Jacobo', the Andean cat, will be released later this week in Bolivia's Sajama National Park with a GPS collar. http://www.amn.bo/index.php/en/recu...en-el-parque-sajama-con-un-gps-de-seguimiento Since my post above, I've been told that every Andean cat previously recorded in captivity was actually a misidentified pampas cat. That makes this the first ever captive holding.
without doubting this to be true, how can this be stated by anyone as a fact? Every previous zoo animal would need to have been retained as a specimen in order to be newly re-identified (or at least parts of them for the DNA).
Re: small felids and need for records. Link: Small cats most wanted list Lack of interest / lack of funding for small felids: http://www.smallcats.org/files/CN60_Heard_et_al.pdf
I think it's that very same authority who told me about the previous Andean cats. On another note, the cat at Vesty Pakos has now been released: https://www.facebook.com/zoolapaz/posts/1065614620159329:0
Or photos - which I assumed might be easier. I was sceptical too but thought it must be potentially possible to verify the small number of previous holdings.
but Hannover 1930, Rotterdam 1940, Leipzig 1960 - what is the likelihood of these cats being preserved as photographs, or of the photos being good enough for ID purposes? Basically, I would need some evidence of how the change in identity was arrived at, and not just someone telling you "they have all been re-identified."
I understand, and I agree with your viewpoint, but with it coming from such an authority (and a scientist) who I know has gone to great lengths to validate even museum specimens, I accepted that there must have been further evidence.
A fox was smuggled out of the zoo but has recently returned: Zorro Antonio fue trasladado a un zoológico de La Paz | EL DEBER
