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.