Small Wild Cats

[Acinonyx sp.]

Jaguarundi, Herpailurus yaguarondi (Lacepede, 1809) (From Nowell and Jackson 1996)

Other Names 
Otter cat (English); jaguarondi (French); Jaguarundi, Wieselkatze, Eyra (German); yaguarundi, onza, gato moro, gato eyra (Spanish); halari (Belize); maracaja-preto, gato-preto, gato mourisco (Brazil, Uruguay); gato griz (Bolivia); gato pardo, gato servante, ulama (Colombia); leon brefiero (Costa Rica, Peru); jaguarondi, chat noir (French Guiana); tejon, mbaracaya-eira (Guatemala); gato cerban (Honduras); kakicoohish (Kekchi); ekmuch (Mayan); tigrillo congo, tigrillo negro (Panama); leoncillo, anushi-puma (Peru); boesikati (Suriname); gato Cervantes (Venezuela). 

Description and Behavior 
The jaguarundi has a distinctly weasel-like appearance, with its elongated slender body, short legs, and sleek unpatterned fur. The jaguarundi also differs from the other small cats of Latin America by its elongated rather than rounded head (Eisenberg 1990). Reported adult weights range from 2-9 kg (Mondolfi 1986, Guggisberg 1975). In Belize, two males averaged 5.9 kg and two females 4.4 kg (Konecny 1989). There are three different color forms, which may sometimes occur in the same area or even the same litter (Konecny 1989, Brooks 1992)-black, brownish grey, and red. In general, however, the darker colors are most commonly associated with inhabitants of rain forest habitats, while the paler color is found most frequently in drier environments (Emmons 1990). The red form was once considered a separate species F. eyra (Fischer, 18 14). It has been suggested that the jaguarundi prefers to hunt ground-dwelling birds rather than mammals (Gaumer 1917, Leopold 1959, Hall and Dalquest 1963), and analysis of 23 stomachs from Venezuela (Mondolfi 1986, Bisbal 1986) shows that birds are frequently caught (found in 54- 70% of the stomachs). Rodents, rabbits, and reptiles were also found in 40-51% of the stomachs. In Belize, scat analysis indicated that arthropods are frequently eaten (remains found in 72% of scats); birds occurred in 22% of scats and rodents in 95% (Konecny 1989). Jaguarundis have also been observed to prey upon characid fish stranded in a puddle (Manzani and Monteiro 1989). Rengger (1830) suggested that the solid coat of the jaguarundi is probably associated with the fact that these cats hunt more diurnally or terrestrially than spotted felids. While nocturnal activity (as well as arboreal foraging) is occasionally observed (Leopold 1959, Guggisberg 1975, McCarthy 1992), Konecny’s (1989) radiotelemetry study of four jaguarundis in Belize found the period of peak activity to be 0400- 1100, with only residual activity (movements of less than 100 m/hr) after sunset. Jaguarundis have been frequently observed travelling or foraging in pairs (Rengger 1830, Guggisberg 1975, McCarthy 1992). 


Biology 
Estrus: © 3.17 -+ 0.75 days (n=6). Estrus cycle: © 53.63 t 2.41 days (n=8: Mellen 1989). Gestation: 70-75 days (Hulley 1976, P. Andrews in litt. 1993). Litter size: © 1.83 t, 0.24 (n=12: Mellen 1989); range l4 (Hulley 1976). Age at sexual maturity: © 2-3 years (Hulley 1976, P. Andrews in Zitt. 1993). Longevity: © up to 15 years (Prator et al. 1988). 

Habitat and Distribution 
A cat of the lowlands not generally found above 2,000 m 146 Part I: Species Accounts. Chapter 5. The Americas, Jaguarundi (Vaughan 1983), the jaguarundi otherwise occupies a L. Emmons in Zitt. 1993). Jaguarundis have been reported broad range of both open and closed habitats-from dry to prefer forest edges and secondary brush communities scrub, swamp, and Savannah woodland to primary forest. (Bourliere 1955, Mondolfi 1986), but this may be because In Venezuela, it has been most frequently collected in trop- it is in such areas that these primarily diurnal cats are most ical dry forest, relative to other habitat types (Bisbal 1989). frequently seen. In Belize’s Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Jaguarundis are more rare and thinly distributed in moist Sanctuary, Konecny (1989) found that jaguarundis are forest types, especially deep rain forest (Konecny 1989, most frequently associated with riparian and old field habitats. Access to dense ground vegetation appears to determine habitat suitability for the jaguarundi, but of all the small New World felids, it is most flexible in its ability to occupy diverse environments (Fig. 16).


Population Status 
Global: Category 5c. Regional: Category 5. IUCN: not listed. The jaguarundi appears to be relatively common over much of its range (Koford 1976, Vaughan in press) although, while present throughout the Amazon basin rain forest, it is more rare in this habitat type (L. Emmons ipz Z&. 1993). The jaguarundi may now be extinct in Uruguay (Thornback and Jenkins 1982), and is very rare in the southwestern United States near the Rio Grande (Tewes and Everett 1986). In Belizean rain forest, home ranges for male jaguarundis were very large (Konecny 1989), several times larger than those reported for sympatric jaguars weighing nearly 10 times more (Rabinowitz and Nottingham 1986). One female used a home range that varied between 13-20 km2, while two males used home ranges of 100 and 88 km? The home ranges of the two males overlapped less than 25%. Both sexes exhibited a pattern of using different, widely spaced portions of their ranges for irregular periods of time, rather than making regular boundary patrols (Konecny 1989).



Principal Threats 
Generally not exploited for commercial trade, although jaguarundis are doubtless caught in traps set for commercially valuable species and may be subject to low intensity hunting pressure around settled areas. They are notorious for predation on domestic poultry (Rengger 1830, Alvarez de1 Toro 1952, Leopold 1959, Hall and Dalquest 1963, Goodwyn 1970, Koford 1976, Ferrari et al. 1984, Bisbal 1986, McCarthy 1992). Reply