302 MAMMALIA

SPECIMENS EXAMINED

Only aduli specimens with complete data were included in mensural analysis. The following
abbreviations for museums have been used : BMNH = British Museum (Natural History), London ;
ROM = Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto ; USNM = United States National Museum, Washington.
Alticola stoliczkanus. — NEPAL : Rasuwa ; Khangjunk, Langtang Valley, 3 810 m, 28° I Ι'Ν-85°22Έ
(3 ROM).
Cricelulus alticola. — NEPAL : Mustang ; Mustang, 3 810 m, 29° 12'Ν-83°57Έ (4 ROM) ; Zethi,
Gayling, 3 810 m (2 ROM). INDIA : Kashmir ; Ladakh, Durgu Village, 390-410 m (3 USNM, 1 BMNH) ;
above Khardong, 3 810-4 570 m, 43° 18'Ν-77°38Έ (5 USNM) ; Pang Kong Lake, 4 260 m,
33°50'N-78 o 32'E (4 USNM) ; Phob River, 4 570 m (1 USNM) ; Shushul, 4 110 m, 33°37'N-78°40'E
(2 BMNH, 2 USNM) ; Sobu, 3 810 m (2 USNM).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CORBET, G . B . and J.E. HILL, 1986. — A world list of mammalian species. 2nd ed.
Facts on File/British Museum (Natural History), New Y o r k / L o n d o n .
DEBLASE, A . F . and R.E. MARTIN, 1981. — A manual of mammalogy with keys to
families of the world. 2nd ed. W m . C. Brown Co. Publishers, Dubuque, Iowa.
ELLERMAN, J.R., 1961. — Mammalia, Rodentia. 2nd ed. Vol. 3, Part 1. In : The fauna
of India including Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon ( M . L . Roonwal, ed.). Baptist
Mission Press, Calcutta.
HONACKI, J . H . , K.E. KINMAN and J . W . KOEPPL, 1982. — Mamma! species of the world.
A taxonomic and geographic reference. Allen Press, I n c . / A s s o c i a t i o n o f Systema-
tics Collections, Lawrence, Kansas.
MITCHELL, R . M . , 1977. — Accounts of Nepalese mammals and analysis of the host-
ectoparasite data by computer techniques. Unpubl. Ph. D. thesis, Iowa State Univ.,
Ames.

Notes concerning the jaguarundi cat (Herpailurus yagouaroundi)

in the Caribbean lowlands of Belize and Guatemala

by T. J. MCCARTHY

Section of Mammals, The Carnegie Museum of Natural History,

5800 Baum Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA 15206-3706 USA

Much of the natural history data for the jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagoua-
roundi) over its Neotropical range is scant and anecdotal. The occurrence of
this cat in the Caribbean lowlands of Belize and Guatemala (eastern El Petén
and Izabal) was reported last among the five felids. Its presence was first documen-

Mammalia, I. 56, n" 2, 1992.

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 NOTES 303

ted by Sanderson (1941) from Stann Creek Valley in then British Honduras
( = Belize). A taxonomic report on the Sanderson mammal collection supported
this record with a voucher specimen (FMNH ; Hershkovitz 1951). The flat skin
without skeletal material remains the only published specimen from this Caribbean
lowland region. Additional morphological evidence is restricted to two flat skins
(BM) possibly from Belize District ; one skin (ROM) from an unknown locality
in Cayo District ; and two skulls (FMNH) from the vicinity of Los Amates,
Izabal. Additional literature citations are few. Wright et al. (1959 : 319-320) repor-
ted for Belize that the reddish color phase of this cat is « not common » while
the dark phase is « common in some districts ». A general examination of Belize's
wildlife based on interviews presented little actual data for this unspotted cat
(Frost 1974). Its presence was indicated from the vicinity of Bermudian Landing,
Belize District (Horwich and Lyon 1986), Cockscomb Basin, Stann Creek District
(Rabinowitz and Nottingham 1989), and the vicinity of Las Milpas, Rio Bravo,
Orange Walk District (Novaro et al. 1990).
At mid-day, 19 December 1975, as I walked along the Temash River from
the village of Crique Sarco to nearby Las Delicias, Toledo District, Belize, I
sighted an adult Iguana iguana basking on the opposite bank over water. Many
mature iguanas approached a total length of two meters and three to five lizards
were seen sunning on outstretched branches of large Ficus along the shoreline.
As I watched, I realized that a jaguarundi, or locally called « halari » or « kakicoo-
hish » in Kekchi, was stalking the lizard at a distance of about two and one-half
meters. The head, body, and tail of the cat were positioned very close to the
ground inasmuch as there was insufficient grass cover. During the next one-half
minute or so, the cat continued to slowly approach the iguana until the lizard
moved suddenly and sprang into the river. At that instance, the unsuccessful
jaguarundi stood-up on its short legs and moved back up the bank where it
was joined by a second and together the reddish colored cats continued along
the river. J.R. Rengger (quoted in Guggisberg 1975) observed these cats stalking
domestic fowl in a similar manner in Paraguay.
Jaguarundis were thought to feed exclusively on small mammals and birds
(Leopold 1959 ; Guggisberg 1975) before recent studies confirmed these in addition
to reptiles, fish, arthropods and plant material (Bisbal 1986; Konecny 1989;
Manzani and Monteiro F. 1989). Bisbal (1986) analyzed the stomach contents
of 10 jaguarundis in Venezuela. Bird remains were most frequently encountered,
while Sigmomys alstoni, Zygodontomys brevicauda, and Sylvilagus floridanus
were identified from the mammalian remains. E. Mondolfi (cited in Bisbal 1986)
reported Sigmodon and Oryzomys as additional rodent prey in Venezuela, although
more birds, likewise, were found. One stomach examined by Manzani and Mon-
teiro F. (1989) in Brazil contained avian remains, while the contents of a second
included one rodent, Cavia aperea, and a lizard, Ameiva ameiva. Bisbal (1986)
found reptilian remains in 50 °7o of the stomachs, representing six lizards of
the genera Ameiva (2), Cnemidophorus (1), Kentropyx (1), and Iguana {2), and
he also cited Ameiva and iguanas from half of the cats in Mondolfi's study.
Herpailurus was observed to feed on stranded fish along a stream (Manzani
and Monteiro F. 1989). During his ecology study in the Cockscomb Basin of
Belize, Konecny (1989) identified the remains of an opossum, rodents, small
birds, arthropods, leaves, and fruit from 46 jaguarundi scats. Reptilian, amphi-
bian, and fish remains were not identified from these. Iguanas were present

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304 MAMMALIA

along the waterways of the basin (personal observation) where Herpailurus was
active frequently (Konecny 1989). Iguana clearly occurred as 1.5 °?o of the identifia-
ble prey items consumed by jaguars (Panthera onca) in the same basin (Rabinowitz
and Nottingham 1986). My partial observation of one unsuccessful hunting attempt
suggests that H. yagouaroundi probably eats lizards in the Caribbean lowlands.
Konecny (1989) reported his m a m m a l i a n prey identifications as Didelphis
marsupialis, Oryzomys palustris ( = couesi), Ototylomys phyllotis, Reithrodon-
tomys gracilis, Sigmodon hispidus, and Rattus rattus. He live-trapped rodents
to determine species composition and to estimate their relative abundance. He
did not retain specimens as vouchers in order to document his field identifications
or to use these as comparative material for his food habit study. Consequently,
his identifications are suspect. Especially enigmatic is the presence of R. rattus
in « dry, open woodland » and « moist, closed woodland » and the absence of
Heteromys desmarestianus from the cat feces, his trapping results, and his Cocks-
comb checklist (Konecny 1989: 264). I undertook a brief sampling of small
mammals in the eastern basin of the C o c k s c o m b and on Cabbage Haul Ridge
during a dry season, 4-10 April 1984. The spiny pocket mouse, H. desmarestianus,
was the most commonly trapped rodent at ground level in the Cockscomb's
forests. No Rattus were trapped and all museum records (McCarthy, unpublished)
and literature accounts (Murie 1935 ; Laurie 1953 ; Disney 1968) for Belize docu-
ment it as a commensal species with human habitation and that immediate environ-
ment. I suspect that Konecny's «Rattus» were actually H. desmarestianus. In
addition, the name Peromyscus leucopus was applied to certain rodents, which
were reportedly trapped in considerable numbers f r o m all sampled habitats. Peromys-
cus is documented in southern Belize by the relatively large P. mexicanus (Burton
et al. 1987). The smaller leucopus is not f o u n d in Belize, ranging southward
in Mexico as far as northwestern Yucatan Peninsula (Hall 1981). Since Oryzomys
alfaroi was omitted f r o m his checklist, Konecny may have confused this darker
rice rat as P. leucopus except he trapped so many (47) in « old field » habitat ;
alfaroi is a forest species. Reithrodontomys gracilis certainly could be confused
as a small Peromyscus to the inexperienced eye, but Konecny also recorded the
harvest mouse f r o m « o l d f i e l d » habitat. I have no documentation for R. gracilis
in the basin although it should be found there, especially in association with
the buildings at Q u a m Bank if no Mus musculus are present. Konecny reported
O. melanotis in his checklist, but unlike O. alfaroi, it also is not documented
in the basin (McCarthy, unpublished data). Rabinowitz and Nottingham (1989),
likewise, prepared no reference collection for a similar e f f o r t in the Cockscomb
and small mammal species could not be identified confidently.
The radiotelemetry study by Konecny (1989) represented the first documenta-
tion on movement and activity of the jaguarundi in the Neotropics. Prior literature
varied on the topic of activity, characterizing this cat as mainly nocturnal, less
nocturnal, or encountered both day and night (Leopold 1959 ; Frost 1974 ; Guggis-
berg 1975). Based on Konecny's data for two males and one female, the jaguarundi
is essentially diurnal as average daily activity increases markedly at about 400 hr,
peaking around 1100 hr and decreasing steadily until 1300 hr. Only residual activity
was recorded after 1800hr although an individual was inactive for more than
two consecutive hours on a few occasions.
If such a pattern of activity could be extended over this lowland region,
it would help explain the circumstances of another encounter with the jaguarundi

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 NOTES 305

in Parque Nacional Tikal, El Petén. While mist-netting bats during the night
of 20-21 February 1976, I heard movement from above in the vegetation. Mist
nets were placed along the narrow Uaxactun road and inside forest edge where
considerable vegetation was situated under the upper canopy. I was unable to
pick-up eyeshine, but, as periodic movement persisted during the night, I suspected
that a cat awaited its opportunity to feed upon an entangled bat. Cats such
as the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) and the jaguar were encountered at night
along trails or at netting stations in Tikal, but these felids are quiet and shy.
Noise and the throwing of debris did not deter the stay of the suspected cat.
At early sunrise, the sound of movement was obvious and continued through
the canopy. I moved in the same direction of the sound and came onto the
road, where I sighted two jaguarundis crossing over from branch to branch.
Both were of lighter coloration. It is uncertain if the nature of my work influenced
their residual activity during the majority of the night. These cats were arboreal
during this time, which echos the comments cited in Goldman (1920), Leopold
(1959), and Guggisberg (1975) although the Belizean specimen from Stann Creek
was encountered on the ground at night (Sanderson 1941).
Uninhibited behavior was documented again on 17 May 1985 along the upper
Bladen River, at the Quebrada de Oro, Toledo. A pair of Herpailurus were
sighted travelling openly along the side of a hill contiguous to a camp where
a half-dozen people were preparing meals at about 1300hr. The cats appeared
unphased by the presence of humans at this remote forest site. Their fur coloration
was dark gray. Jaguarundis are known as pests to the people of rural and remote
Belizean villages. Since 1975, I received complaints about prédation by halaris
upon chickens, which also is documented elsewhere (Leopold 1959 ; Frost 1974 ;
Guggisberg 1975 ; Bisbal 1986). I confirmed this in two cases where the farmers
shot and skinned the cats responsible for the damage. I examined a reddish-brown
skin from Patchakan, Corozal, and a specimen from Santa Elena, Toledo, with
grayish pelage.
As nothing is known about their social behavior and there are few field
observations of H. yagouaroundi, it remains to be determined if the occurrence
of pairs, as reported here, suggests more than short-term reproductive bonding
or young siblings. Consequently, consideration should be given for the implications
of paired diurnal cats upon their range of movement and varied prey as a function
of competitive avoidance of other carnivores.

Acknowledgements. — The Agriculture Department, Belize, is acknowledged for sup-

port during my tenure with the Vampire Bat Education and Control Programme in 1975-1978.
Officers-in-charge with the departments of Forestry and Archaeology, Belize, continue
to permit my mammal persuits. The Gloucester Regiment and Royal Marines of H. M.
British Forces-Belize provided transportation in 1975 to southern Toledo. Field work in
the Cockscomb Basin in 1984 was supported by the Mellon North American Mammal
Research Institute and the O'Neil Fund, The Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Partial
field support in the Bladen Branch in 1985 was from the Scientific Exploration Society,
England, and British Forces-Belize. Thanks are extended to A. Bul, J. Cab, A.M. Craig,
E. Garcia, D. Owen-Lewis, A. Poot, S. Rash, L. Waight, A.C.S. Wright, and many
others for assistance in Belize. W.B. Burton and M.L. Reed assisted me in the Cockscomb
Basin. J.G. Cant, M. Dary-R., D.J. Howell and F. Polo-Sifontes made possible my
opportunities to study in Parque Nacional Tikal. The curators and staffs of British Museum
of Natural History (BM), Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), and Royal Ontario
Museum (ROM) allowed my review of their mammal collections. C. Casto-Gorney kindly
typed the manuscript. This note is a contribution of the Mammals of Belize Program.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

BISBAI., F.J., 1986. — Food habits of some Neotropical carnivores in Venezuela (Mamma-
lia, Carnivora). Mammalia, 5 0 : 329-339.
BURTON, D . W . , J . W . BICKHAM, H . H . GENOWAYS a n d T . J . M C C A R T H Y , 1987. — K a r y o t y -
pic analysis of five rodents and a marsupial from Belize, Central America. Ann.
Carnegie Mus., 56: 103-112.
DISNEY, R . H . L . , 1968. — Observations on a zoonosis : leishmaniasis in British Honduras.
J. app. Ecol., 5 : 1-59.
FROST, M.D., 1974. — A biogeographical analysis of some relationships between man,
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State Univ., 344 pp.
GOLDMAN, E.A., 1920. — Mammals of Panama. Smithsonian Misc. Coll., 6 9 : 11-309.
GUGGISBERG, C.A., 1975. — Wild cats of the world. Taplinger Pubi. Co., New York,
328 pp.
HALL, E.R., 1981. — The Mammals of North America. Vol. II. John Wiley and Sons,
New York, vii + 581 + 90 pp.
HERSHKOVITZ, P., 1951. — Mammals from British Honduras, Mexico, Jamaica and Haiti.
Fieldiana: Zool., 3 1 : 547-569.
HORWICH, R . H . and J. LYON, 1986. — The Community Baboon Sanctuary, a guide
book. Belize City, Belize, 60 pp.
KONECNY, M.J., 1989. — Movement patterns and food habits of four sympatric carnivore
species in Belize, Central America. In: K.H. Redford and J.F. Eisenberg (eds.),
Advances in Neotropical mammalogy. Sandhill Crane Press, Gainesville, Florida,
614 pp.
LAURIE, E.M.O., 1953. — Rodents from British Honduras, Mexico, Trinidad, Haiti and
Jamaica collected by Mr. I.T. Sanderson. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 12, 6 : 382-394.
LEOPOLD, A.S., 1959. — Wildlife of Mexico. The game birds and mammals. Univ. Cali-
fornia Press, Berkeley, 568 pp.
MANZANI, P . R . a n d E . L . A . MONTEIRO F . , 1989. — N o t e s o n the f o o d h a b i t s of t h e
jaguarundi. Felis yagouaroundi (Mammalia : Carnivora). Mammalia, 53 : 659-660.
MURIE, Α., 1935. — Mammals from Guatemala and British Honduras. Misc. Pubi. Mus.
Zool., Univ. Michigan, 2 6 : 1-30.
NOVARO, A . J . , M . SUAREZ a n d S. WALKER, 1990. — P a r t 2B : C a r n i v o r e s . In : Wildlife
Survey of the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area, Belize. Univ. of
Florida, Gainesville, vi + 49 + 29 pp.
RABINOWITZ, A . R . a n d B . G . NOTTINGHAM, J r . , 1986. — Ecology a n d b e h a v i o r of the
jaguar (Panthera onca) in Belize, Central America. J. Zoo!., (A) 210: 149-159.
RABINOWITZ, A.R. and B.G. NOTTINGHAM, Jr., 1989. — Mammal species richness and
relative abundance of small mammals in a subtropical wet forest of Central Ame-
rica. Mammalia, 53 : 217-226.
SANDERSON, I.T., 1941. — Living Treasure. Viking Press, New York, 290 pp.
WRIGHT, A . C . S . , D.H. ROMNEY, R.H. ARBUCKLE a n d V.E. VIAL, 1959. — Land in
British Honduras. Report of the British Honduras Land Use Survey Team. Colonial
Res. P u b i . , 2 4 : 1-327.

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