Research overview: kodkod distribution in Chilean and Argentine temperate forest

The kodkod, or guigna, is the smallest cat in the Americas and is restricted to the temperate rainforests of central and southern Chile and adjacent Argentina. This overview compiles records describing its close association with the Valdivian and Araucanian forests, including dense, moist, structurally complex forest and forest edges, as well as some shrubland and forested ravines. Its small range, among the most restricted of any cat, mirrors the limited extent of these southern temperate forests. Mapping the kodkod is aided by camera-trap studies in Chile, though much remains uncertain. Clarifying distribution matters because the species narrow range and forest dependence make it acutely vulnerable to the fragmentation and loss of southern South America temperate forests.