A Young Jaguarundi in Captivity

Abstract

A young female jaguarundi, Felis yagouaroundi , was purchased in Veracruz, Mexico, by Charles M. Fugler, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Mr. Fugler kindly permitted me to rear this jaguarundi after we returned to the United States. The kitten was observed for two months at Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas. The kitten, when purchased on April 5, 1956, had the civet like body, relatively small head, and long, supple tail typical of adult jaguarundis. She was in the gray color phase but paler than adult pelage in the gray phase. Baird (Mammals in u.s. and Mexican boundary survey, 1859, p. 12) stated that the young is more rufous than the adult. Hair samples were taken from various parts of the body for color analysis. Individual hairs from the scalp, hind foot and dorsum were tipped with black, followed by a Chamois annulation, and then a Mummy Brown annulation (capitalized terms after Ridgway, color standards and color nomenclature, 1912). The basal portion of some of these hairs was a pearl gray. Individual hairs from an adult jaguarundi in the gray phase (KU 2219) had two light and two dark annulations. Hairs from an adult in the red phase (KU 2220) had one or two light and two dark annulations. The vibrissae were not annulated and were white, black or Chamois. The kitten was measured and …