---
title: "What the sources say about the Jaguarundi | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "59 claims from the Jaguarundi profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Jaguarundi (*Herpailurus yagouaroundi*)

> 59 claims from the Jaguarundi profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Jaguarundi](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/jaguarundi/)

## Puma yagouaroundi (jaguarundi). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Puma_yagouaroundi/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| a bigger vocal repertoire than any other cat in its range | Jaguarundis have a larger vocal repertoire than other members of the family occupying the same range. |
| A bigger vocal repertoire than any other cat sharing its range | Jaguarundis have a larger vocal repertoire than other members of the family occupying the same range. |
| Savanna, shrubland, tropical rainforest, dry forest, chaparral and thickets | recorded in grasslands/savannas, shrub lands, tropical rainforest, tropical deciduous forest, dense chaparral, thickets, and scrubland (note: 'dry forest' paraphrases 'tropical deciduous forest') |
| Birds, spiny rats and other small mammals, iguanas and other reptiles, frogs and fish | Jaguarundis are carnivores and hunt a variety of small mammals, reptiles, birds, frogs, and fish. |
| spiny rats | Mammals that are preyed upon: eastern cottontails, short-tailed cane mice, Brazilian guinea pigs, and spiny rats. |
| iguanas | Reptiles: South American ground lizards, rainbow whiptails, and green iguanas. |
| longer body, shorter legs and smaller, rounder ears | Compared to other small neotropical felids, jaguarundis have a more elongated body, smaller, more rounded ears, and shorter limbs relative to body size. |
| its superficial resemblance to the Mustelidae, the weasel family, led early German zoologists to call it the "weasel cat." | Superficially, jaguarundis resemble members of the family Mustelidae. This caused early German zoologists to refer to the species as the “weasel cat.” |
| measure 505 to 770 millimetres from nose to rump | The head and body length may range from 505 to 770 mm. |
| carry a tail adding another 330 to 600 millimetres | The tail is long, ranging from 330 to 600 mm. |
| standing about 35 centimetres at the shoulder | Shoulder height is approximately 350 mm (note: 35 cm is a direct unit conversion of ADW's 350 mm) |
| habitat that includes savanna, shrubland, tropical rainforest, dry forest, chaparral and thickets | recorded in grasslands/savannas, shrub lands, tropical rainforest, tropical deciduous forest, dense chaparral, thickets, and scrubland (note: 'dry forest' paraphrases 'tropical deciduous forest') |
| it may live in swamps and near streams, rivers and lakes | may inhabit swamps and areas near streams, rivers and lakes |
| up to elevations of at least 3,200 metres | They live up to an elevation of at least 3200 m. |
| Jaguarundis hunt small mammals, reptiles, birds, frogs and fish | Jaguarundis are carnivores and hunt a variety of small mammals, reptiles, birds, frogs, and fish. |
| birds are often their prey of choice | Birds are often the prey of choice and the jaguarundi diet usually includes junglefowl. |
| A jaguarundi's coat comes in two color morphs, one dark grayish-black and one reddish | One is dark grayish-black, and the other is reddish in color. |
| both can turn up in the same litter | it has been determined that the two color morphs do mate, and litters are observed containing both |
| Early naturalists mistook the two morphs for separate species, naming the dark one "eyra" and the reddish one "jaguarundi." | This caused the species to be originally classified as two separate species: “eyra” for the blackish coat and “jaguarundi” for the reddish coat. |
| it has a larger vocal repertoire than other cats sharing its range | Jaguarundis have a larger vocal repertoire than other members of the family occupying the same range. |
| Thirteen distinct calls have been recorded from captive jaguarundis | Thirteen distinct calls have been reported in captivity including contact calls, greeting and attention calls, and warning signals. |
| the short purr mothers often use to call their kittens, which answer with repeated peeps | Mothers often call their kittens with a short purr and the kittens answer with repeated short peeps. |
| a loud hiss or spit that warns others to stay away | When warning others to stay away, a jaguarundi will give a loud hiss and/or spit. |
| a step up from the Least Concern rating Animal Diversity Web reported in 2004 | The IUCN Redlist classifies H. yaguarondi under least concern (note: ADW's account is dated by its own citation line: 'Rick, J. 2004.') |
| That account named loss of habitat and prey as the major threats. | The major threats to jaguarundis are loss of suitable habitat and prey. |
| Jaguarundi pelts are of poor quality, but the cats are caught by accident in traps set for other animals. | The pelts of jaguarundis are of poor quality, but jaguarundis are caught accidentally in traps meant for other animals. |
| Animal Diversity Web names the flat-headed cat (Prionailurus planiceps) as the species that most resembles it, though the two are easily told apart, and jaguarundis are slightly longer and heavier | The species that most resembles jaguarundis is Prionailurus planiceps, commonly referred to as flat-headed cats. However, jaguarundis can be easily distinguished from this other species, and are slightly longer and heavier. |
| Documented prey includes eastern cottontails, short-tailed cane mice, Brazilian guinea pigs and spiny rats among mammals | Mammals that are preyed upon: eastern cottontails, short-tailed cane mice, Brazilian guinea pigs, and spiny rats. |
| South American ground lizards, rainbow whiptails and green iguanas among reptiles | Reptiles: South American ground lizards, rainbow whiptails, and green iguanas. |
| on top of birds, frogs and fish | hunt a variety of small mammals, reptiles, birds, frogs, and fish |
| tags: rainforest | These cats have been recorded in grasslands/savannas, shrub lands, tropical rainforest |
| thirteen distinct calls recorded in captivity | Thirteen distinct calls have been reported in captivity |
| a kitten-summoning purr | Mothers often call their kittens with a short purr |
| a warning hiss or spit | When warning others to stay away, a jaguarundi will give a loud hiss and/or spit. |

## Jaguarundi (Herpailurus yaguarondi). Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/jag/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| from northern Mexico through Central and South America | Jaguarundis are found in northern Mexico and central and south America. |
| extinct in Texas | Jaguarundis are extinct in Texas. |
| Jaguarundis weigh about 3.6 to 7.3 kilograms (8 to 16 pounds) | weighing 8 - 16 pounds (note: 3.6 to 7.3 kg converted from 8 to 16 lb. TPWD's current page wins over ADW's 2004 4.5 to 9.0 kg (Check the date).) |
| In captivity a jaguarundi can live 16 to 22 years. | They live 16 to 22 years in captivity. |
| Today it is found from northern Mexico through Central and South America | Jaguarundis are found in northern Mexico and central and south America. |
| It once lived in Texas too. | Jaguarundis still exist in Mexico, but are extinct in Texas. |
| Jaguarundis hunt mostly on the ground but climb trees easily | Although Jaguarundis hunt mostly on the ground, they also climb trees easily |
| historical accounts from Mexico suggest they are good swimmers too, entering the water freely | Historical accounts from Mexico suggest that Jaguarundis are also good swimmers and enter the water freely. |
| In the United States the jaguarundi has been listed as Endangered since 1976 | U.S. Status Endangered, Listed 6/14/1976 (note: TPWD's current page gives U.S. status Endangered with the 1976 listing date and no change since, so 'since' follows the page) |
| Texas Parks and Wildlife now counts it as extinct in Texas | Jaguarundis still exist in Mexico, but are extinct in Texas. |
| the last confirmed sighting was in Brownsville in 1986 | The last confirmed sighting of a jaguarundi in Texas was in Brownsville in 1986. |
| dangerLevel: Low | Jaguarundis is slightly larger than a domestic cat, weighing 8 - 16 pounds. |

## Oliveira et al. (2026). Herpailurus yagouaroundi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2026: e.T9948A284507933.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2026-1.rlts.t9948a284507933.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Near Threatened | Herpailurus yagouaroundi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2026 (note: category read through GBIF's copy of the assessment, per source:prefetch; closest passage on the cached page reads 'IUCN Red List Category Near Threatened (NT)') |
| The IUCN now lists the jaguarundi as Near Threatened | Herpailurus yagouaroundi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2026 |

## Santos et al. (2019). Prey availability and temporal partitioning modulate felid coexistence in Neotropical forests. PLOS ONE.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0213671

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| active by day | Jaguarundis exhibited a completely diurnal pattern across all sites |
| while the margay works nights | margays were strictly nocturnal (~70% of activity between 18:00h and 06:00h) |
| a daytime schedule out of step with the nocturnal margay | Jaguarundis and margays could only be compared across two sites, but showed the lowest activity overlap (mean Δ = 0.20), due to their nearly opposite temporal activity |
| Camera traps at protected forest sites across the Neotropics | we combine data from long-term camera trap monitoring at eight protected forest sites across the Neotropics |
| jaguarundis keep a completely diurnal schedule, with bimodal activity peaks around dawn and dusk | Jaguarundis exhibited a completely diurnal pattern across all sites with a bimodal activity peaks around dawn and dusk |
| while the similarly sized margay is strictly nocturnal | margays were strictly nocturnal (~70% of activity between 18:00h and 06:00h) |
| On an overlap scale running from 0 (none) to 1 (total) | we used the overlap coefficient (Δ), which varies from 0 (no overlap) to 1 (total overlap) (note: 'none' and 'total' are the paper's own 'no overlap' and 'total overlap') |
| jaguarundis and ocelots averaged 0.39, low at every site | pairwise activity overlap in ocelot-jaguarundi were low for all sites (average of Δ = 0.39) |
| jaguarundis and margays, compared at two sites, showed the lowest overlap, at 0.20 | Jaguarundis and margays could only be compared across two sites, but showed the lowest activity overlap (mean Δ = 0.20) |
| The researchers note this fits an earlier Atlantic Forest study suggesting that jaguarundis reduce competition with the larger ocelot and the similarly sized margay by being active at opposite times | This is consistent with a study in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest [ 6 ], which suggested that jaguarundis reduce interference competition with the larger ocelots, and avoid competition with similarly-sized margays, by selecting opposite time-periods for their activities. |

## AnAge entry for Puma yagouaroundi. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Puma_yagouaroundi

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| weightKg: 7 | Adult weight 7,000 g (note: 7,000 g is 7 kg) |