Jaguarondi

		Jaguarondi
		He is a wild animal


Origin			From the southern U.S.A. to Argentina
Translation			Francis Vandersteen

The possession of this animal is not authorized Royal Decree establishing the list of mammals not kept for production purposes that may be kept (M.B. 24.08.2009)

The Jaguarondi, also known as the eyra or otter cat, is a species of small American feline with a uniform black, gray-brown or russet coat.

The jaguarondi is found in primary forests, savannahs and grasslands. It likes to roam in swamps, but is rarer in rainforests. It can be found from sea level to 3,200 meters above sea level, but is rarely found above 2,000 meters.

Its range extends from the southern USA to northern Argentina; it is only found in the eastern part of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. It is thought to have disappeared from Uruguay and is rare in the south-western USA, the Amazon basin and Mexico.

A population of jaguarondis is present in Florida. This is a former domesticated population released into the wild in the 1940s.

The Jaguarondi resembles a cat, with its long body, slender legs and long, thin tail. The head is small and flattened, with small, rounded ears. Their blue to dark amber eyes are close-set and ringed with light-colored hair.

Jaguarondi are 77 to 140 cm long, with a tail of 33 to 60 cm, i.e. around 40% of the total length. Height at the withers can reach 55 cm, but generally varies between 30 and 40 cm. The jaguarondi weighs between 3 and 9 kg, with females being smaller than males. In Belize, for example, females weigh an average of 4.4 kg and males 5.9 kg.

The coat is solid, with three distinct colors: brown-gray, reddish to reddish and black due to melanism. Although gray and black forms are more common in humid environments and reddish in arid ones, red and brown-gray jaguarondis are sometimes born in the same litter. The term "eyra" is essentially applied to the reddish form, once thought to be a different species from the jaguarondi. The coat does not have the same hue along its entire length, giving an impression of color change when it bristles: in domestic cats, this type of coat is said to show "ticking" or to be "agouti".

A genetic study of several alleles responsible for melanism reveals that the reddish form is ancestral and that the darker coat is the result of evolution. Jaguarondi are born spotted and quickly take on their solid coloring.

The jaguarondi is essentially diurnal, although it sometimes hunts after sunset. Its slender body enables it to thread its way through undergrowth, but it is also a good swimmer. Unlike other South and Central American felines, the jaguarondi is not arboreal. Of the felids, only lions are truly clan animals. However, there have been several sightings of jaguarondis travelling and hunting in pairs, but it is not yet known whether these were breeding pairs or not.

The jaguarondi lives on average eight years, and up to fifteen years in captivity.

It mainly hunts ground birds such as wild turkeys and quail, rodents and reptiles, but also feeds on invertebrates, stranded fish and frogs. In Belize, an analysis of its droppings revealed that arthropods and rats make up over 70% of its diet, the rest being birds. It is also not averse to visiting chicken coops.

The jaguarondi's territory covers 15 to 100 km2. Females have a smaller territory.