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Jaguarundi
Herpailurus yagouaroundi
J. Reppucci
Description
The jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi) is phylogenetically part of the puma lineage, and is more closely related to the puma (Puma concolor) and the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) than to the other Neotropical cats. The jaguarundi is regarded as a monotypic species. Like the cheetah, the jaguarundi cannot retract the claws of its hind paws completely, and its behaviour resembles the puma more than other medium-sized cats in the same habitat.
The jaguarundi has a small, thin and elongated head, small close-set eyes, wide-set, rounded ears, a low-slung slender body, short legs and a very long tail, which gives it a unique appearance; it is sometimes called "otter cat". The coat of the jaguarundi is short and uniform with three colour phases, brownish-black, grey, and yellowish red. The head and the belly often present a lighter colouration than the body. The reddish phase tends to be seen more often in open/dryer habitats. In fact, in the semi-arid Brazilian Caatinga scrub it is the most frequent colour morph. The blackish phase, on the other hand, seems to be more associated with rainforests. Nevertheless, all colour phases could be found in all environments. Sometimes there are markings on the face, belly or limbs. These markings can either be natural discolouration of the fur, but more commonly they are scars. Since unique markings are however generally uncommon, it is very difficult to identify individuals and estimate population from camera trap records or sightings.
Weight
2.5 - 7.6 kg
Body Length
48.8 - 77.5 cm
Tail Length
27. 5 - 59 cm
Longevity
10 - 20 years
Litter Size
1 - 4 kittens
P. Meier
Status and Distribution
The jaguarundi is the most widely distributed small felid in the western hemisphere, and the second most widespread carnivore in the Americas after the puma, however concrete information about its population density is sparse. The jaguarundi is listed as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List as well as in the National Red List in Argentina and Nicaragua. It is classified as Threatened in Mexico, and Vulnerable in Brazil. In Guatemala the jaguarundi features on the List of Threatened Species (IeA) due to its small population size.
The jaguarundi was considered to be relatively common over much of its range for many years, perhaps because it is diurnal and uses open habitats. However, research indicates that it may be uncommon, and a low-density species often found at densities of 1–5 individuals per 100 km² or lower. A recent study in southern Brazil determined the minimal density of jaguarundi in a combined area of 80.57 km² to be a mere 4 individuals per 100 km².
The jaguarundi’s distribution range extends from Mexico through to Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, to central Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil and Uruguay. There may also be a few individuals in the southern USA, however updated reports are lacking, and competition with the bobcat is likely to limit their distribution there. The jaguarundi generally occurs up to 2,000 m elevation and is considered to be more a lowland species. However, in Colombia it has been reported up to 3,200 m. A recent study also published the first record of jaguarundi on the western slopes of the Peruvian Andes, an area in need of further monitoring to determine its distribution and habitat requirements.
Habitat
The jaguarundi lives in a wide variety of open and closed habitats from Monte desert, dry scrub, semiarid thorn forest, restinga, swamp, riparian areas, savannah, wet/swampy savannas, wet grassland and forests (tropical, subtropical, rainforest, deciduous/semi-deciduous, pine, cloud, montane/pre-montane), to subalpine rainy paramo, both pristine and disturbed. In Brazil and Belize, it has been noted that jaguarundis use riparian forests as biological corridors, particularly in secondary forest/agriculture mosaics. In Argentina, jaguarundis are often observed close to bodies of water and far from urban areas. In Costa Rica, jaguarundis were recorded on edges of monospecific Raphis taedigera palm plantations, however, in Colombia they were found to significantly avoid pasture areas and oil palm plantations. The jaguarundi is rare and thinly distributed in moist forest types, especially dense rainforest. It seems to prefer more open areas than the other small felids, and yet the jaguarundi is most often seen in areas close to dense cover. This may be because they prefer forest edges and secondary brush communities, but this may also be because in such areas these primarily diurnal cats are more easily observed.
Access to dense ground vegetation appears to determine habitat suitability for the jaguarundi. Because the attributes of human altered landscapes such as water sources, roads, and communities increase vegetation edges (potentially a preferred habitat of the jaguarundi due to the high abundance of preferred prey there) they may actually benefit from human-induced fragmentation to a certain degree.
Although jaguarundis show great habitat flexibility by occupying diverse environments, it does not seem to be particularly abundant anywhere, instead being described as uncommon to rare, especially in comparison to ocelots in tropical areas and Geoffroy’s cats in more temperate habitats. While the jaguarundi can successfully adapt to a variety of landscapes, a certain degree of connectivity is required between the landscape fragments.
P. Meier
P. Meier
Ecology and Behaviour
The jaguarundi has a remarkable characteristic which is very unusual in cats: it uses at least thirteen different calls to communicate. These range from purring, whistling and chattering, and chirping like a bird.
In contrast to many other felids, the jaguarundi is strictly diurnal and hunts mostly on the ground. Compiling camera trap records from various studies, it appears that they are most active between 08:00 h and 12:00 h and again between 16:00 h and 20:00 h. In a radio telemetry study in Belize, activity peaks were from 14:00 h to 16:00 h with very little activity after sunset. This pattern was also confirmed through camera trap studies in Brazil and Argentina. This behaviour enables the jaguarundi to minimize competition with the nocturnally active ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), the predominantly crepuscular and nocturnal puma (Puma concolor), and the margay (Leopardus wiedii). The potential for competition between the ocelot and the smaller felids results in the dominant ocelot negatively impacting the other species through the threat of interspecific killing/intra-guild predation or interspecific resource competition. However, due to its diurnal activity, prey availability has a greater influence on the spatiotemporal ecology of the jaguarundi than the pressure of dominant competitors such as the ocelot, puma and jaguar, despite overlapping niches.
It is however important to note that in a study between 2014 and 2016 in Carlos Botelho State Park, a large protected area (370 km²) in São Paulo State, Brazil, analysis of puma scat indicated remnants of jaguarundi. Because the feeding habits of the jaguarundi and puma are very different in such large protected areas, this interspecific predation event was more likely to be a result of intraguild predation for feeding purposes, as opposed to resource competition.
In spite of its mostly terrestrial activity the jaguarundi is a skilled and agile climber and swimmer. They can jump up to 2 meters in the air to catch birds and have been seen pursuing marmosets up in trees. Its arboreal capabilities are aided by its very large tail. Although the jaguarundi is considered a solitary carnivore, it has been observed travelling or foraging in pairs. Nevertheless, these could have simply been mother and pre-dispersal progeny.
Jaguarundis may travel up to 7 km per day. Few studies of home range size have been undertaken and thus ranging behaviour is not well understood. In the savannas of Brazil, home ranges for both sexes ranged from 18 to 40.2 km², whereas in a forest and forest/agriculture mosaic in Brazil they ranged from 1.4 to 34.9 km². In a low tropical forest/agriculture mosaic in Mexico, the mean home range of both males and females ranged from 8.9 to 9.6 km². In Belizean rainforests however, home ranges for male jaguarundis were very large, several times larger than those reported for sympatric jaguars. One female used a home range of around 20 km², while two males used home ranges of 88 and 100 km². The home ranges of the two males overlapped less than 25%. In this way, although jaguarundi home range is larger than expected for its body size, structurally they follow the same pattern as those of other sympatric Neotropical felids.
Jaguarundis have a polyoestrous breeding cycle, meaning they are able to go into heat several times per year, and as a result, do not have one defined breeding season. The duration of the oestrous cycle typically ranges from 51–56 days, where oestrus lasts for 2.4–3.9 days. The jaguarundi’s gestation period ranges between 72–75 days, producing litter sizes of 1–4 offspring.
Kittens open their eyes at about six to eight days, leave the den at four weeks and start with solid food at four to five weeks but still suckle up to 60 days. The age at sexual maturity for females has been reported to vary from 17–26 months.
Main Threats
Generally, the jaguarundi has never been exploited for commercial trade but was likely caught as by-catch in traps set for other species. A recent study in Mexico however discovered that the jaguarundi, along with 26 other mammalian species exploited for various reasons, were all species at risk of local extinction, indicating that exploitation by humans may in fact be a greater threat than first thought. Exploitation has been recorded for various purposes in different countries. The most common are medicinal, food, retaliatory killing to poultry depredation, ornamental purposes, or taken as pets. In a semiarid region of northeastern Brazil, jaguarundi fat has been recorded as a medicinal treatment of wounds.
Despite its apparent tolerance to habitat alterations and the ability to find shelter in thickets and shrubs, the main threats to the jaguarundi are habitat loss and fragmentation which can also lead to prey reduction, as well as road mortality. The magnitude of these threats varies between countries, with Brazil presenting the greatest threat in terms of habitat loss due to agricultural expansion. The jaguarundi is more associated with savannah than with dense forest. Habitat alterations of the Brazilian savannas into industrial agricultural landscapes are therefore seriously threatening it. How adaptable it is and how much competition with other cat species influences its behaviour still needs further studies.
Given the high abundance of free-ranging domestic dogs, particularly in Brazil, the threat of contracting illnesses such as Parvovirus or Canine Distemper Virus has been noted as a possible growing threat to jaguarundis. To what extent disease transmission may negatively affect the felids, is not yet well known.
Although the jaguarundi is recorded to have over 400 primary prey species, a recent study identified that roughly 25% of these prey species are threatened or declining.
Arguably, the greatest threat is the lack of updated information about this species' life history and ecology. Therefore, the identification of current threats and the assessment of their impacts are difficult. The jaguarundi was long perceived to be a common species but this perception appears to be biased by its diurnal activity and use of open areas.
Conservation Efforts and Protection Status
Jaguarundi populations of North and Central America have been included in the CITES Appendix I since 1987, and all others countries included it in Appendix II.
The jaguarundi is protected over much of its range and hunting is prohibited in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, French Guiana, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Uruguay, U.S. and Venezuela. In Peru hunting is regulated and the jaguarundi is not legally protected in Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana and Nicaragua.
A study in Colombia suggested that there is no spatial segregation between jaguarundis and other competing species such as ocelots, pumas and jaguars, and that any segregation is only temporal. It was also found that wild felids significantly avoided pasture areas and palm oil plantations. The research indicated the importance of implementing conservation strategies that benefit the entire guild simultaneously, by using already modified areas such as pastures for the expansion of agricultural land.
The ongoing fragmentation of southern and central America’s natural land poses a risk to the jaguarundi’s survival. Effective conservation of smaller felid species such as the jaguarundi depends also on strategies implemented outside protected areas. A key component of effective conservation is the immediate development of long-term monitoring programmes. Camera trapping appears to be the only effective method of jaguarundi detection to date. However, considering the low detection rate, this either indicates that populations are lower than thought, or more effective monitoring methods need to be investigated. Some studies have used camera trapping coupled with another method such as track or scat identification, which although labour intensive, appeared successful in expanding the known distribution of this rarely detected species.
As little is known about the jaguarundi, its status should be periodically reviewed and there is an urgent need for further research on its ecology, demographics and natural history in order to identify threats and their impacts as well as to ensure that adequate conservation measures can be implemented.
M. Pittet
Prey
The jaguarundi is a generalist predator, feeding mostly on small animals weighing less than 1 kg such as small mammals (mice, rats, small marsupials), birds and reptiles. The bulk of the diet comprises of mammals weighing from <0.1 kg to 0.7 kg, most common are Sigmodontinae rats. However, prey greater than 1 kg, like rabbits, opossums and armadillos is not unusual, as well as smaller invertebrates (primarily arthropods). Invertebrates are relatively common in jaguarundi scat but are suggested to merely help sustain individuals between capture and consumption of larger prey. Birds show up as frequent and important prey items in several areas. Lizards and snakes are also taken and could be important in some areas. Mean prey mass is about 380 g, thus, larger than that of the tiger cats and margay but much smaller than that of the ocelot. Although the jaguarundi possesses the same canine diameter and other buccal as the smaller margay, it still takes larger prey than the latter, probably due to its more powerful muscular capabilities. The jaguarundi has also been observed to prey upon characid fish stranded in puddles.