These small beadrill-like cats have not been documented in the country since 1986. A new study suggests it’s time to reintroduce them.
A few times a year, Texas wildlife officials get excited phone calls.
“I just saw something that looks like a big cat, or maybe a giant giant,” a caller might say. “Was it a jaguarundi?”
No, they are not reporting sightings of a mythical beast like the chupacabra. But they can be fine.
The elusive and secretive jaguarundi ( Herpailurus yagouaroundi ) is a small and oddly shaped feline species, not much larger than a domestic cat, with relief-like features, short legs and a very long tail. Native to South and Central America, its range once extended as far south as Texas, but it has not been officially observed in the Lone Star State since 1986. The last one we know was killed that year by the world’s most feared predator. : a car
Texas wildlife officials are still carefully investigating all sightings, and to date have denied all of them. Biologists have explained that the “jaguarundis” people think they saw were just domestic cats or other wild felids – or sometimes squirrels – scurrying around in the dark.
That hasn’t stopped people from looking for jaguarundi in Texas or giving up hope of spotting one. In fact, a team of scientists has just completed a decade-long detailed study to find evidence that the species persists at the northern edges of its range, extending south to Argentina.
The researchers, mostly from Texas A&M University’s Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, spent 18 years setting up motion-activated cameras at 685 sites in the most likely locations for cats in the historic range of northern Mexico and southern Texas. During that time, 126 photos of the cats were taken in Tamaulipas, the Mexican state bordering southern Texas, indicating that it remains a healthy part of the animal’s range.
In Texas, camera traps captured images of many other carnivores, including ocelot, bobcat, coyote and pig-nosed skunk, but not a single jaguar in 18 years.
Based on thousands of photographs and a lack of verifiable sightings, the researchers concluded that “the jaguarundi is likely extirpated from the United States.” The findings were published earlier this year in the journal Ecology and Evolution.
“This is unfortunate news for jaguarundis in the U.S.,” says Wai-Ming Wong, director of the small cat program at Panthera, a global wild cat conservation organization, who was not involved in the study.
“Although disappointed, I am not too surprised by the findings,” Wong added. “Southern Texas represented the northernmost part of the jaguarundi range, and in many cases, it is in these marginal areas at the extremes of the species’ distribution that it is most susceptible to threats.” In addition to highways, the expansion and increase of agriculture led to the extinction of the jaguarundi in this country.
Could this sad news also serve as an opportunity?
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service protected the Gulf Coast jaguarundi under the Endangered Species Act in 1976, just three years after the legislation went into effect. It has since been listed as an endangered species in this country, although not much has happened in the following years. By the time the service finally released the first draft of its jaguarundi recovery plan in 2012—an unusual delay—no one had officially seen the species in the United States for more than a quarter century.
That recovery plan, completed in December 2013, made it clear how little we knew about jaguarundi at the time – which is still true today. “Information on aspects of the jaguarundi’s life history in the wild, including age at sexual maturity, minimum and maximum reproductive age, and mating behavior, is limited,” the recovery plan states.
This is not unusual, as big cats such as lions and tigers attract the most conservation attention and research funding. “Jaguarundis, like many other cat species, are understudied and poorly known,” says Wong. Without adequate data on the ecology of a species, it is much more difficult to conserve them.
The 2013 plan called for closing these information gaps, as well as investigating whether jaguarundis could be re-introduced to Texas, or whether the species would benefit from proactive reintroduction efforts.
The new study says that it is time to put this last option into action.
“We suggest,” the authors wrote, “that federal and state agencies follow the recovery strategies outlined in the Gulf Coast jaguarundi recovery plan. These recovery efforts include restoring, protecting and reconnecting habitat, outreach and public education, reducing the risk of road mortality, and reintroducing the jaguarundi to South Texas.” is to assess whether it is feasible to enter.
This likely requires rethinking the border wall between the United States and Mexico. The 2013 recovery plan acknowledged that “increased border monitoring related to illegal immigration and homeland security could impact future jaguar recovery efforts” — and that was before the Trump administration waived dozens of environmental laws to speed up border wall construction.
Wong agrees that reintroduction needs more discussion, “especially in the context of jaguarundi action plans and also within the US American Wildlife Recovery Act,” he says. “The authors make strong recommendations for next steps. It is essential to implement spatial and population surveys to better understand their basic ecology and conservation needs, which would inform and make reintroduction plans more effective.”
Federal officials disagree, however.
“Given our limited resources, the US Fish and Wildlife Service works to focus recovery efforts where we can have the greatest impact on listed species,” Fish and Wildlife Public Affairs Specialist Aubry Buzek says via email. “At this time, we have no plans to implement the reintroduction of jaguarundi into the United States.”
However, the species remains officially endangered in the United States – an important classification if feral cats are to return to their traditional northern territory.
It’s not a difficult scenario. Jaguar has expanded its namesake larger cousin to the United States in recent years, a trend that is expected to continue.
Meanwhile, the threats that drove the jaguarundi out of the country still exist, and are probably worse than 30 years ago. These risks need to be mitigated, not just for the jaguarundi, but for all wildlife in Texas.
Road mortality, habitat loss, roads and hunting also remain threats to jaguarundis south of the border. Although the IUCN Red List rates the species as being of “least concern”, they are not always doing well, and their legal protection varies throughout their range. “In many parts of their distribution, populations are declining,” says Wong.
But knowing how much they are decreasing, and knowing what they need to progress, remains unresearched. Since 2018, less than 20 scientific studies have been published on the jaguarundi. During that same period, researchers have published hundreds of studies on lions and other charismatic mega-felines.
Ultimately, that’s what makes this study of the possible extirpation of the jaguarundi from Texas so important. It is a reminder that we are leaving many interesting species unexplored and protected.
Wong says he hopes this will make a difference to the mysterious and neglected jaguarundi.
“Any information that increases conservation awareness of the species will be beneficial,” he says.
Meanwhile, people in Texas continue to report possible jaguarundi sightings. Maybe one day soon they spy the real thing.
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The final frontiers? A call to protect biodiversity at borders
John R. Platt
Why is the Gulf Coast Jaguarundi endangered?
He is the editor of The Revelator. An award-winning environmental journalist, his work has appeared in Scientific American, Audubon, Motherboard and numerous other magazines and publications. His “Extinction Countdown” column has been running continuously since 2004 and has covered news and science related to more than 1,000 endangered species. He is a member of the Association of Environmental Journalists and the National Association of Science Writers. John lives on the outskirts of Portland, Oregon, where he finds himself surrounded by animals and cartoonists.
The Gulf Coast jaguarundi is endangered under the US Endangered Species Act. Main threat: habitat loss and fragmentation. To see also : More wolves and beavers needed as part of western United States habitat improvement. Cats depend on dense vegetation to hunt prey, from birds to rodents to lizards.
When did the jaguarundi become endangered?
Where are the jaguarundis of the Gulf Coast found? Habitat and distribution The gulf coast jaguarundi ranges from southern Texas in the United States south to Veracruz and eastern Mexico to San Luis Potosí. This cat looks like a large beaver or otter, with a coat in one of three color phases: black, reddish-brown, or gray-brown.
Is the jaguarundi an endangered species?
Are Jaguarundis larger than jaguars?
The jaguarundi may have been endangered in the US since 1976, but it has been forgotten. On the same subject : No, Texas cannot legally break away from the US, despite a popular myth. The FWS has never designated critical habitat for this cat, has never written a specific recovery plan, and has failed to allocate adequate funds for jaguarundi habitat acquisition.
A jaguar can stand up to 30 inches tall at the shoulder and males can weigh around 200 pounds. Some of the largest males of the species can weigh over 300 pounds! Otherwise, the jaguarundi is over a foot tall and can weigh 20 pounds.
Are there large cats in Costa Rica?
What is the difference between a jaguar and a jaguarundi? A jaguar’s coat is tan with black spots, while a jaguarundi’s coat is solid brown, reddish or gray. Read also : Texas nurses worried about women’s health care in the post -Roe era. Another difference is that while the jaguarundi has a conservation list of Least Concern, the jaguar is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN due to habitat loss.
Are jaguars just big cats?
| The jaguar is the only big cat in Costa Rica. It can grow to over two meters in length and weigh up to 250 kilos. They are a highly threatened species due to habitat loss and illegal hunting. The jaguar is mainly found in more protected reserves and national parks. | |
|---|---|
| big cats | Family: |
| Felidae |
Are Jaguarundis endangered?
the species
When did the jaguarundi become endangered?
What is the population of jaguarundi? The Jaguarundi is thought to occur at low densities in Brazil, with 1-5 cats per 100 km², but in Mexico the population is estimated at 20 cats per 100 km².
Why are jaguarundi endangered?
The jaguarundi may have been endangered in the US since 1976, but it has been largely forgotten. The FWS has never designated critical habitat for this cat, has never written a specific recovery plan, and has failed to allocate adequate funds to acquire jaguarundi habitat.
