Strict habitat association and habitat fragmentation, low local densities and decreasing prey populations appear to be pushing the Andean mountain cat, a very little-known small felid, towards extinction.

Interviews, school-based educational activities and field surveys will be used to assess the Andean cat's present distribution, to understand its ecological needs and the causes of its critical status, start designing long-term conservation plans with the involvement of local communities.

Through the interaction with local people, we aim to find a path conciliating social development necessities and the conservation of wildlife in a little studied, highly vulnerable ecoregion.