Project Jaguarundi: 2015

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Jaguarundi Video

Thanks to Ocho Verde for sharing this amazing video of jaguarundis walking past a trail camera in Costa Rica. An excellent reference video for folks who think they might have seen one.

Cougars in Alabama? Don't hold your breath...

This news item just came out about the possibility of Puma concolor in Alabama. The reporting leaves something to be desired and the comments section, as expected, is interesting. Apparently everyone has seen one and it's a government conspiracy that the state won't admit they are here. No, the truth is there are no confirmed sightings of a known wild cougar (panther, etc.) in the state for a half century. It is possible that they are in the state, of course. At least one seems to be in Tennessee. Over time it seems to be increasingly likely that the cats will be in Alabama, but probably coming from the west/northwest as the western population is clearly expanding eastward.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

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.

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Jaguarundi Video

Cougars in Alabama? Don't hold your breath...

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Black Housecat in the News!