Gulf Coast Jaguarundi

Source: http://ingrid.zcubes.com/zcommunity/v.aspx?mid=346686&title=gulf-coast-jaguarundi

Gulf Coast Jaguarundi Recovery Plan        

by Jordan Opet

Listing Date and Type of Listing

Title: Gulf Coast Jaguarundi Recovery Plan (Puma yagouaroundi cacomitli)
Plan Date: 12/20/2013
Listing Status: Endangered (U.S), Threatened (Mexico)
Listing Date: 06/14/1976
Location: Southern Texas and Eastern Mexico
Plan Status: Final

Description and Ecology of the Gulf Coast Jaguarundi

Chances are the majority of U.S citizens have never heard of the Gulf Coast jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi cacomitli). This can be contributed to the rarity of this subspecies. There have been very few sightings of the Gulf Coast jaguarundi over the years. Even if someone happened to come upon the path of a  jaguarundi, they could easily mistake it for a slightly over-sized house cat. They also share a similar look to weasels and commonly have either a reddish coat or charcoal grey coat. Additionally, the Gulf Coast jaguarundi are a lowland species and can be found living in thick brushlands or the forest. Their diet mainly consists of eating reptiles, birds, and small mammals (e.g mice, rabbits). They have a life expectancy of 16 to 22 years old and normally birth one or two litters a year (average of 2 per litter).

Source: fws.org

Geographic and Population Changes

The Gulf Coast jaguarundi's historical range starts from Lower Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas (see map) and then proceeds downwards into the eastern Mexico states of Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, San Luis Potosi, and Veracruz. Although, the last confirmed sighting of a Gulf Coast jaguarundi in Texas was April 1986. What makes this alarming is that since 1982, there has been at least 96,840 camera trap-nights and 36,347 live trap-nights with no results. There have been sightings since 1986, but none were confirmed to be a "Class I" sighting. However, there is a known population existing in Tamaulipas, Mexico, which is 130 miles south of the U.S border. In 2012, evidence of this population was captured by remotely-triggered cameras. All in all, due to the subspecies rarity, there is currently no population estimates.

Cause of Listing and Main Threats to its Existence

Picture of the U.S/Mexico Border. Source: cnn.com

The most recognized cause of the Gulf Coast jaguarundi status of endangered is habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation. It has been estimated at least 95% of the jaguarundi's dense thornscrub habitat in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas has been lost to agriculture and urban development. This urbanization has also led to roads, which put the jaguarundi at risk of car collisions and fragmentation of their habitat. The biggest example of fragmentation is the U.S/Mexico border, which cuts off the two populations in Texas and Mexico. This removes their ability of migration and dispersal. Furthermore, the jaguarundi are at risk of accidental capture by traps set for other commercially valuable species.

Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasha1987/15609847275/

Recovery Plan

The long-term goal of the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service's recovery plan is to restore and protect the Gulf Coast jaguarundi's habitat so it can be ultimately taken off the endangered list. The plan will mainly target the South Texas population, due to not having authority in Mexico. The first step of the plan begins with expanding and improving survey techniques to be more effective.  As of now, there is a shortage of detailed information on this subspecies, so any knowledge found by future surveys will better reveal how to restore the Gulf Coast jaguarundi. The next step begins with restoring and protecting a viable habitat for the jaguarundi. The focus of this habitat restoration on increasing connectivity to allow dispersal and genetic exchange between the Southern Texas and Mexico populations. The plan also centers on reducing the effects of human population growth and urbanization. For example, creating a designated area for the jaguarundi where no development can happen and building corridors such as underpasses and culverts. This will help protect the jaguarundi from the risk of car collisions, and fragmentation. Furthermore, to insure the long-term conservation of the jaguarundi, there will need to be partnerships with local organizations and landowners to give them incentive to protect the jaguarundi. This includes the use of public outreach and existing regulations already in place. Lastly, the recovery process will monitored by the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service to allow the plan to be adaptive and change as more information develops.


What You Can Do

1) The biggest impact you could have on helping restore the Gulf Coast jaguarundi is to increase public knowledge of the species and the danger it is in. This could be as simple as telling your friends and family about the jaguarundi. The more people know of the species and the risk they face, the more incentive there will be to protect them.

2) Contact your government leaders letting them know the conservation of the Gulf Coast Jaguarundi is important to you and ask them to keep up their efforts in their restoration of the species.

References & Other Resources

To find more information about the conservation of the Gulf Coast jaguarundi, you can see the full recovery plan of U.S Fish and Wildlife Service here. 

Leone, Steve. “Gulf Coast Jaguarundi & Sinaloan Jaguarundi.” Research Biology, U of A, University of Arizona, research.biology.arizona.edu/mosquito/willott/323/project/endcats/Jagundi.html.

NatureServe. 2017. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 7.1. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available http://explorer.natureserve.org. (Accessed: November 10, 2017 ).

Gulf Coast Jaguarundi Recovery Plan (Puma yagouaroundi cacomitli). (2017). 1st ed. [ebook] U.S Fish and Wildlife Services, pp.1-37. Available at: https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/ [Accessed 9 Nov. 2017].