Andean Cat

Leopardus jacobita

Status: Endangered. Found high in the Andes and the Patagonian steppe, the Andean Cat is threatened by habitat loss, hunting, and disease. Much of their habitat has been fragmented by mining and resource extraction, and it has been hunted for food and traditional medicine. Also, much of the Andean Cat's prey species, mountain vizcacha, has also been severely hunted with declining populations.

In the mythology of the Incas, Qhoa was a feline deity, associated with lightning and rainstorms. In this aspect Qhoa was benevolent, but also could be vengeful and punishing with destructive hail. The dark clouds that darken the sky before a storm marked Qhoa's approach. The darkness and shape of the clouds were a sign of the storms' intensity. Rainbows seen in a thunderstorm were especially noted as harbinger of hail and lightning. The people make offerings to those rainbows so that lightning does not destructively strike crops or people.

In pre-Incan Paracas civilization, Kon was an early deity. He was the son of the Sun, personification of earthquakes, creating the mountains and valleys and the first humans. At first the humans honored him, but when they drifted and forgot to be grateful to him, he ceased giving them rain and prosperity and the land became parched. Disgusted by the disloyalty of the humans, Kon changed them into cats and left the earth in darkness. In the wake of this, came Pachacámac, a new god, who challenged Kon and won. Kon left, and Pachacámac started fresh with creating new men and women.

References: