RITUAL REQUIREMENTS 



The jaguarundi will mark territory by uri- 

 nating and scratching with hind feet (Hulley 

 1976). Thirteen distinct calls are recognized with 

 the largest repertoire occurring during the mating 

 season (Hulley 1976). Cutter (1957) found three 

 calls in a captive kitten: chirp, purr, and cough. 

 Goodwyn (1970) also found these three calls. 

 Chirp was a high-pitched, bird-like sound, sono- 

 graph in Goodwyn (1970). Purr sounds are similar 

 to the domestic cat's purr, but of a higher tone 

 and more erratic. The cough is a throaty sound as 

 of air forced from the lungs. 



Jaguarundis are solitary except at mating 

 (Denis 1964). Some captive animals show indica- 

 tions of gregariousness within family groups (Hul- 

 ley 1976). 



OTHER CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL 

 REQUIREMENTS 



Home range size is not known, but a captive 

 female was tracked a distance of 3.2 km in one 

 morning (Hulley 1976). 



POPULATION NUMBERS AND TRENDS 



No population estimates are available for 

 most of the range. It is extremely rare in Arizona 

 (Cockrum 1960). 



A questionnaire survey conducted by Texas 

 Parks and Wildlife Department indicated that jag- 

 uarundi may occur on three National Wildlife Re- 

 fuges in Texas: 12 on Santa Ana NWR, 8 on La- 

 guna Atascosa NWR, and 2 on Aransas NWR 

 (Brownlee 1978). R. McBride (personal communi- 

 cation) believes jaguarundis may occur on Laguna 

 Atascosa, but not on the other two refuges. 



REPRODUCTION 



Mating is believed to take place in November 

 and December (Denis 1964). Young are born in 

 March or August and may weigh up to 22.7 g 

 (Denis 1964, Caras 1967, Hulley 1976). The ges- 

 tation period is given as 6 months (Walker 1975). 

 There may be two litters per year with a range of 

 one to four (average two) young per litter. Both 

 gray and red phase may occur in the same litter 

 (Denis 1964). There is an indication of gregarious- 

 ness and tolerance of different generations by 

 adults in captive situations (Hulley 1976), which 

 may indicate a larger degree of socialism than 

 once thought. Longevity records indicate a life 

 span of 8 to 10 years (Rue 1967). 



MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION 



The jaguarundi is protected in the U.S. and 

 some Latin American countries. Brush is no 

 longer cleared in the national wildlife refuges in 

 the lower Rio Grande Valley (lUCN 1972) in 

 order to maintain brush habitat in its natural 

 form. Santa Ana and Laguna Atascosa National 

 Wildlife Refuges are thought to contain habitat 

 most similar to the original brush habitat of the 

 lower Rio Grande Valley (Goodwyn 1970). 



No recovery team or plan is formalized at this 

 time. 



AUTHORITIES 



William C. Brownilee 



Texas Parks and Wildlife Department 



4200 Smith School Road 



Austin, TX 78744 



W. B. Davis 



Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Science 

 Texas A&M University 

 College Station, TX 77843 



Roy McBride 

 Department of Biology 

 Sul Ross University 

 Box 725 

 Alpine, TX 79830 



PREPARER'S COMMENTS 



It is difficult to describe current population 

 numbers and distribution based on the question- 

 naire survey methods used by the Texas Parks 

 and Wildlife Department. Problems are encoun- 

 tered with sightings of escaped and/or released 

 captive individuals and sightings of the same in- 

 dividual several times. These factors, as well as 

 misidentification, lead to inaccurate distribution 

 and population data. 



LITERATURE CITED/SELECTED 

 REFERENCES 



Alston, E. R. 1882. Biologia Centralia-Americana. 

 Mammalia. 219 pp. 



Bourliere, F. 1964. Mammals of the world, their 

 life and habits. A. A. Knopf Co., New York. 

 223 pp. 



Brownlee, W. C. 1978. Feline status survey. Per- 

 formance Report, Proj. W-103-R-7. Texas 

 Parks Wildl. Dept., Austin. 4 pp. 



Cahalane, V. H. 1947. Mammals of North Ameri- 

 ca. MacMillan Co., New York. 682 pp. 



