Jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi)

Jaguarundi Photograph by Bodlina. Some rights reserved.

Description

The Jaguarundi is small cat, not much bigger than a domestic cat. It has a long body and fairly short legs compared with other American cats. There are two main color variations - a dark grey black form and a reddish brown form. The coat is fairly uniform in color, without spots or markings. The underside is paler. Cats from the tropical rainforest habitat tend to be darker, while those from open drier country are lighter in color. Kittens are sometimes spotted at birth but lose their spots as they mature into adults.

Size

Head and body length: 50cm - 77cm. Tail length: 33cm - 60cm.

Habitat

tropical rainforest, grassland, shrub land, deciduous forest, scrubland. Often found near water.

Food

small mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs, fish

Breeding

A litter of 1 - 4 kittens is born after gestation of 63 to 75 days. The kittens leave the den after about 4 weeks and are fully weaned after about 6 weeks..

Range

Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, USA (Arizona, Texas, Florida – introduced), Venezuela.

Classification Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Genus: Puma Species: yagouaroundi

Relatives in same Genus   Cougar (P. concolor)

Jaguarundi Photograph by Cédric Gravelle. Some rights reserved.

Jaguarundi Photograph by Gary Halvorsen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. License: Public Domain.