#colocolo

Ceramic bottle modeled in the form of a standing feline, decorated with resist-painted motif. Gallinazo style (aka Virú culture), NW Peru, Early Intermediate Period, c. 200 BCE - 600 CE. Spotted at the American Museum of Natural History NYC.

PS: this vessel may depict the Peruvian subspecies of Pampas Cat aka Northern Colocolo (Leopardus colocola garleppi). The Andean Mountain Cat (Leopardus jacobita) is also often suggested, but their range is more southern and higher elevation than where the Virú were? Also note the stripier legs on the Colocolo similar to the ceramic:

Colocolo (Leopardus colocola)

Creatures from Chilean Mapuche folklore - the pihuicheñ, chonchoñ, colocolo, ngúrúvilu, trelquehuecufe (cuero), and huaillepeñ.

I will *try* to do it daily this year and the topic will be cat species.

Starting with the obscure Pantanal cat (Leopardus braccatus) from Brasil. I love their striped legs and serious faces! They mean business.