Returning the Gulf Coast Jaguarundi to South Texas

Image from Biodiversity Warriors 

Recovery Plan for the Gulf Coast Jaguarundi

Tyler Nestegard

What is a Jaguarundi?

The jaguarundi is a small slender cat resembling a weasel, with a long neck, very long tail, and a blackish or reddish color coat of fur. The standing height of the Gulf Coast subspecies of jaguarundi is typically at around 10 inches, weighing 15 pounds at most. Due to the similarity in size and color, a jaguarundi can readily be confused with a large feral cat. The Gulf Coast jaguarundi subspecies is known as puma yagouaroundi.

Image Courtesy of the US Fish and Wildlife Service

Where Can We Find Them?

The jaguarundi is a lowland species, inhabiting forest and bush. In southern Texas, jaguarundis used dense thorny shrub lands for their habitat. In this region, known as the Lower Rio Grande Valley, over 95% of this land has been altered for agricultural and urban development. 

Where Did They Go?

As a result of the alteration in habitat areas, there have been no documented sightings of this particular subspecies in over 30 years in Texas. The population continues to live in northeastern Mexico in the eastern lowland forests. 

Biodiversity Warriors

Endangered?

The Gulf Coast subspecies of jaguarundi was listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) as endangered in 1976. The jaguarundi is also listed as endangered in the state of Texas. In Mexico, the jaguarundi species is listed as threatened.

Major Threats

The main factors contributing to the decision to list the Gulf Coast subspecies are as follows: habitat destruction and loss, habitat fragmentation, increased border control, and lack of habitat designation in the United States. All of these factors continue to be an issue for the jaguarundi subspecies to return to the US on its own, and to be able to have a self-perpetuating population. As noted above, over 95% of the natural habitat in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas has been converted to agricultural lands and roads built throughout this area have both increased urbanization and helped fragment the remaining habitats.

Image Courtesy of  CNN 

The recent increase in border control between the US and Mexico includes the proposal for a 16-foot high fence to separate the two countries, which would severely affect the possibility of successful reintroduction of the subspecies.

Recovery Steps

The first recovery plan for the jaguarundi was completed in 1990 as a part of a greater recovery plan for the large cats of the state of Texas. The 1990 plan did not establish specific recovery criteria, but included an objective to determine the status and conservation needs of the jaguarundi in the SW United States as well as Mexico. The new 2013 Gulf Coast Jaguarundi Recovery Plan only applies to the gulf coast subspecies. 

This plan establishes specific down listing and delisting criteria for the subspecies. The long-term goal for this plan is to restore and protect the Gulf Coast jaguarundi and its habitat so that its long-term survival is secured and it can be considered for removal from the list of threatened and endangered species. 

The focus of the recovery efforts will exist in:

1. Continued research on the jaguarundi and its required habitat 
2. Securing the necessary land in its natural habitat needed for successful reintroduction, 
3. Restore connectivity from current range to the natural habitat, and 
4. Reduce the effects of humans on the long-term success of the habitat and species population.

Sources:

http://biodiversitywarriors.wikispaces.com/Gulf+Coast+Jaguarundi

http://bigcatsrescue.org/jaguarundi-facts/

http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/FINAL%20Gulf%20Coast%20Jaguarundi%20Recovery%20Plan.pdf

https://sph.uth.edu/dellhealthyliving/lrgv-monograph/map.htm

http://mihirswild.blogspot.com/