Overcoming barriers: Novel records of swimming behavior in Leopardus guigna

Abstract

The distribution range of the güiña cat (Leopardus guigna) is highly restricted and the species is threatened. Owing to the shyness of the animal, uncertainties remain about its behavioral repertoire. In this note, we report two records of swimming for this felid, a behavioral trait that has not yet been described in the literature. These records were obtained in the context of a citizen science project and thus confirm that public participation can help to expand our knowledge of the natural history of elusive species.