Project Jaguarundi: Georgia Photo: Gray Fox?

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Georgia Photo: Gray Fox?

Thanks to a reader for sending in this link to a lively discussion on a forum about a series of photos from Georgia. People are all over the map on this (most claiming some sort of cat), but the dark tail strongly suggests gray fox.

7 comments:

UnknownOctober 9, 2011 at 5:05 PM
Hm...Cool looking creature. Looks very slinky to me. That, the black tail, and the belly coloration suggests long-tailed weasel to me...But, seems fairly robust to be a weasel....long-tailed weasel. Final answer.
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Mark BaileyOctober 10, 2011 at 5:18 AM
It is "slinky" looking, but look at the other photos. I still say fox.
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Mark LaRouxOctober 10, 2011 at 7:18 AM
Yep, looks to be a gray fox to me too. Just thought I'd bring up a 'dark bobcat' sighting in Grant, Alabama (at the end of Snug Harbor road where it becomes a trail) from several months ago....sorry for being late but hadn't seen your site before. I rode out there this past weekend but was on a noisy 4wheeler-you can't sneak up on anything in 1 of those. Also saw a DOR bobcat last month on Monte Sano Blvd (Huntsville).
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AnonymousApril 15, 2012 at 12:30 PM
Looks to me a puma due to the posture of the hind leg and long tail, also end of the tail is darker. The way it seems to walk, looks puma to me. Jaguarundi perhaps... but not sure if this cat is present in that area. (yvierijs Netherlands)
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AnonymousMarch 5, 2017 at 1:23 PM
I have seen a large red one near Leary GA on hwy 62. they Exist in south west GA.
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AnonymousAugust 16, 2017 at 5:56 AM
I saw 2 brown ones in Monroe County GA near Forsyth.
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AnonymousSeptember 23, 2024 at 6:46 PM
I think I saw a jaguarundi in Ga. a couple of years ago.I didn’t know what it was , but after I did some research I was convinced it was a jaguarundi.
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The Jaguarundi in Alabama

The jaguarundi is larger than a domestic cat and a little smaller than a bobcat. Color ranges from rusty brown to almost black. These cats are most active in the early morning and evening, and prefer densely vegetated areas. The known range is from Argentina to Texas, but there have been several eyewitness accounts from south Alabama and northwest Florida. If jaguarundis do exist in the region, they could represent an introduced population, a pioneer population (think coyote, armadillo), or even the remnant of a native population. Although they have received relatively little attention in recent years, the following reports were summarized for Alabama's First Nongame Symposium (1982) by the late Dr. Dan Holliman, mammalogist at Birmingham-Southern College:
August 1974: Dr. Holliman and Dr. Thomas Nieson observed a single adult near Bayou la Batre, Mobile County.
January 1975: An adult jaguarundi was captured alive in a Clay County, Alabama farmyard, and was confirmed by James Peavey.
August 1980: Dr. Holliman observed an adult and two young at a garbage dump just outside Bayou la Batre, Mobile County.
April 1981: Dr. Holliman and Hugh Dowling observed one jaguarundi in Baldwin County crossing the road near the Gulf State Park water tower.

In the 30 years since these reports, many other reports from competent observers, plus a few recent highly suggestive trail cam images, lend further plausibility to the existence of a viable, reproducing population of this secretive cat in the region.

How You Can Contribute

Our goals are to document the existence of this secretive wild cat in the Southeast by:

A.) Soliciting eyewitness reports from the public, and

B.) Gathering photographic evidence through a volunteer-operated network of "camera traps" in areas of potential occurrence.

If you have seen a jaguarundi in Alabama or northwest Florida, please share it with us at jaguarundi.alabama@gmail.com. Please provide the date, time, and exact location. Even better, use Google Earth to create and send a .kmz file placemark or else provide the latitude and longitude from the bottom of the screen. Attach a photo if you have one. All submissions will remain confidential and not made public without your permission.

If you would like to set up and operate a trail camera, go ahead. Also, watch this space for tips, as we are currently testing "camera trap" methods.