Costa Rica is home to a great variety of animal species, among them 6 felines, do you know which ones?

There are no lions or tigers in Costa Rica, in fact the two largest felines to be found in the country are the jaguar and the puma, which are also the biggest felines found in the American continent, the other four wild felines found in the country are the ocelot, the margay, oncilla and jaguarundi.

 1) Jaguar (Panthera onca): The biggest feline found in Costa Rica. It is listed as a Near Threatened species on the IUCN Red List and the number of them continue to decline, threatened mainly by the loss of their habitat. It is very difficult to actually see one in the country, but they live in areas like Arenal-Monteverde, Tortuguero, Corcovado, La Amistad and Barra del Colorado.

2) Puma (Puma concolor): also known as cougars or mountain lions, they can be as big as the jaguar, and it’s the only of two felines in Costa Rica that do not have spots or stripes. The live in Corcovado, Santa Rosa, Monteverde and Cerro de la Muerte.
Ocelot o Manigordo (Leopardus pardalis): also found in the United States, Mexico and other countries in Central and South America. It is known for is beautiful and different markings including stripes, bands and spots; it is commonly confused with the margay but the ocelot is bigger. In Costa Rica there are found in the Guanacaste National Park, Palo Verde, Arenal, Monteverde, Tortuguero, Corcovado, Rincon de la Vieja and Braulio Carrillo, among others.

3) Margay or Caucel (Leopardus wiedii): this small wild cat is native to Central and South America, it is listed since 2008 as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. Margays are skillful climbers much more so than the Ocelot with which they are commonly confused, they are also considerably smaller. They can be seen at the Amistad Park, Arenal, Corcovado, Monteverde and Santa Rosa.

4) Oncilla or Tiger cat / Tigrillo (Leopardus tigrinus): found in Central America and all the way through Brazil, it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. The Oncilla is smaller than both the Ocelot and the Margay, in fact It is the smallest wild cat of Costa Rica; it has spots over a thick coat that ranges from light brown to dark ochre. Corcovado, Cerro de la Muerte, Arenal, are some of the areas this feline can be found in Costa Rica.

5) Jaguarundi or Yaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi): very hard to see in Costa Rica, deforestation has lowered their population and they are currently listed as Least Concer on the IUCN Red List. It is the only feline in Costa Rica that is active during the day. It is related to the Puma and its coat has no spots or stripes.