Listen to the oncilla
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the oncilla
The oncilla is a mammal in the family Felidae (order Carnivora). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “vulnerable”.
What does the oncilla sound like?
Mammal voices range from infrasonic elephant rumbles to the ultrasonic clicks of bats and dolphins. Most are made in the larynx, shaped by the throat, mouth and nose, and used for contact, warning, courtship and – in some species – echolocation.
From Wikipedia
The oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus), also known as the northern tiger cat, little spotted cat, and tigrillo, is a small spotted cat ranging from Central America to central Brazil. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and the population is threatened by deforestation and conversion of habitat to agricultural land.
In 2013, it was proposed to assign the oncilla populations in southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina to a new species, the southern tiger cat (L. guttulus), after it was found that it does not interbreed with the oncilla population in northeastern Brazil. In 2024, a similar argument was put forth with regards to the Andean montane cloud forest sub-population; for a third species to be recognized, now known as the clouded tiger cat (L. pardinoides). In 2026, a genetic analysis of Leopardus species in South America proposed that the L. tigrinus complex comprised five species, adding the tilcayo (L. tilcayo).
More from the family Felidae
Frequently asked questions
What does an oncilla sound like?
You can hear 1 recording of the oncilla on this page. Mammal voices range from infrasonic elephant rumbles to the ultrasonic clicks of bats and dolphins.
Is the oncilla endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the oncilla as “vulnerable”.
What family does the oncilla belong to?
The oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus) belongs to the family Felidae in the order Carnivora.
Sources & credits
- Artis, tijgerkat - SoundCloud - Beeld en Geluid by Beeld en Geluid – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q205948 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Oncilla – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by (c) Thomaz de Carvalho Callado, some rights reserved (CC BY) – CC BY 4.0