Activity and movement patterns of Geoffroy's cat in the grasslands of Argentina

Abstract

To understand the activity and movement patterns of Leopardus geoffroyi, we compared its behavior by radio-tracking 10 individuals in two areas of the Pampas grassland of Argentina: Campos del Tuyú Wildlife Reserve (CdT; 2F, 2 M, n = 1753 activity fixes), and Ernesto Tornquist Provincial Park (ETPP; 4F, 2 M, n = 1700 fixes), an area more strongly affected by human activities. The proportion of active fixes varied between areas and ranged from 38.4 ± 4.4% at CdT to 42.9 ± 8.1% at ETPP. In both areas, L. geoffroyi was mainly nocturnal, with maximum activity at 1:00 h (70.9%) at CdT and 4:00 h (75.6%) at ETPP. Activity patterns were highly correlated between areas and, within each area, between sexes, possibly in relation to the nocturnal activity of its major prey. Seasonal variations were detected, with the least diurnal and nocturnal activity in spring. In both study areas, Geoffroy's cats presented variations in the amount of nocturnal activity corresponding to differences in nocturnal luminosity. However, these variations were different: cats were most active when the night was brighter at CdT, whereas at ETPP activity was lower in brighter nights. At CdT, the linear distance of movement between locations averaged 685.8 ± 496.8 m and males moved 1.4 times farther than females. This distance was shorter at CdT than ETPP (1087.9 ± 932.8 m), where males had movements 4.5 times greater than females. The mean speed of travel did not differ between areas (CdT: 0.44 ± 0.45 km/h; ETPP: 0.44 ± 0.78 km/h), but males tended to move faster than females. In the grasslands of Argentina, human disturbance did not affect the patterns of activity of L. geoffroyi but cats appeared to be forced to spend more time active and move over greater distances in the more disturbed area.