Kitty kitty

Last week I put the trail camera on a small drying pool on our property.  We created this shallow depression a few years ago and it has served its purpose well as an amphibian breeding site.  The deer love it also and tracks were abundant.  I thought I'd get some interesting deer photos, but this was what I ended up with:

 

In the comments section of a previous post, Dave Steen said that in addition to the handful of ambiguous trail camera photos that might be a jaguarundi, we also should be getting trail camera images of black house cats that are clearly just that and nothing else.  My response was that nobody's likely to report or post such photos, because it would be of little interest to anyone.

Well, this is without doubt a domestic cat, Felis catus.  There are a lot of them out there.  I got these photos far too easily for someone with an interest in melanistic felids.  I'll admit that had the animal been walking away with its head down and out of clear view, or had the focus or lighting been poor, this might have gone to the "interesting photos" file.  Having multiple images certainly helps (these were four minutes apart).  If there are jaguarundis in this part of the world, it will take either a dead body or photos as clear and unambiguous as these to confirm their existence.

Wolf Bay-Blackwater River Update

Maybe white-tailed deer like sardines.

You get what you pay for. The recent Wolf Bay trip yielded nothing of interest, as the three cheap ($50) new cameras failed to work properly in multiple trials. I left them out for a week even though I knew they weren't up to snuff, and the only photo taken that was not of my hand reaching for the camera is the one above. This was actually from the location of a reported jaguarundi sighting in Blackwater River State Forest in Florida, and the other two cameras were deployed on the Wolf Bay tract. All three have now been returned for a refund, and the next camera purchase will emphasize quality, not quantity.

While at Wolf Bay, I asked a local resident about any sightings of long-tailed cats. "Jaguarundis?" he replied. "Oh, they're here. One guy with a nearby homeowners' association has a hundred dollar reward for proof of one." I should point out that he said "jaguarundi," not me. He is also not a typical local, being an avid observer of nature and having considerable interest in environmental issues. He also does not claim a personal jaguarundi sighting. So, is the jaguarundi in these parts reality or myth? The jury's still out. I'm going to try to track down this person who's allegedly offered the reward.

Fieldwork Begins

Tomorrow, for the first time, bait stations will be set up in conjunction with trail cameras for the sole purpose of photographing a jaguarundi in Alabama.  Three Tasco Model 119223C trail cameras (available at Wal-Mart for $50, not counting a $15 4GB memory card and batteries) will be employed on a large, densely forested private tract on Wolf Bay in south Baldwin County.  Bait will be fish suspended 6-7 feet off the ground (out of reach of coyotes).  The cameras will be left in place for a full week and checked on September 9.  Results will be posted here in a little over a week.

Thanks to Dr. Bill Summerour for advice on methods, for relaying his own 1963 possible sighting in Barbour County, and for passing along a recent report from a competent observer who watched with binoculars for five minutes at a distance of about 50 yards what he was virtually certain was a jaguarundi.  This was in 2005, and on an overgrown woods road near Weeks Bay, roughly 15 miles from where the cameras are to be set up tomorrow.

Vittor & Knowles 2007

One of the most compelling recent accounts of a putative jaguarundi in Alabama occurred at 9:30 AM, March 27 2007, when Barry P. Vittor and David J. Knowles, both trained wildlife biologists at the environmental consulting firm of Barry A. Vittor & Associates, observed what they believed to be a jaguarundi in southern Mobile County.  The encounter was at  30.534°, -88.125° on the Kerr-McGee property just west of the south entry gate near the Theodore Industrial Canal.  A few days after, both wrote separate accounts of what they saw.  Above is Barry Vittor's sketch.  A map and excerpts from their written accounts appear below, after the jump.  Thanks to both David and Barry for permission to post this, and to Howard Horne for facilitating.

Another Recent Photo

This 2007 trail camera image at a deer feeding station is from Barbour County, Alabama. We may release more information with permission from the source, but this one is inconclusive; nothing here eliminates a large house cat. Feel free to comment below.

Alabama (?) Black Cat Video

This heavily edited video has been around a while. YouTube embedding is disabled, but you can watch it here. Evidently filmed from a deer stand, allegedly in Alabama south of Selma, with a buck actually in the field watching the cat. There is little to use for scale, however, and although it appears large, black house cat cannot be ruled out. It's interesting that the buck seems nervous about the cat, though.

First Post: Interesting Photo

Alabama jaguarundi or house cat?

According to my source, the low-resolution photo above was taken in a south Alabama county that borders Florida. As requested, the location will for now remain confidential. The animal is walking away from an automated trail camera. Although the location has not been positively verified, the vegetation is apparently consistent with the region. The tree to the right appears to be a live oak. Lacking scale, it is entirely possible that this is a large house cat, but note the striking similarity of the tail and hindquarters to this jaguarundi:

South American jaguarundi.

House cats frequently (but not always) carry their tails higher:


Of the putative "jaguarundi" images I've seen from the Southeast, the top image here is the most compelling.

A photo like that calls for an on-site investigation before the surroundings are appreciably altered. It should be a simple matter to return to the site of the photo and re-shoot a similar photo as documentation of site authenticity. It may also be possible to place a measuring stick in the position of the cat for scale. We're working on that.

More to come. Please don't hesitate to initiate discussion in the comments.