The Jaguarundi range is marked in purple on the maps below. They are copies of the IUCN Red List map or and accurately prepared map based on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ map which is probably the most up to date map. But all maps of wild cat ranges need constant improvement and updating as the initial information is sometimes less than perfect and things are changing all the time. Feel free, therefore, to upgrade the map if you have the knowledge and are willing!
Update January 11, 2022: when I first created this map about 13 years ago or so, it was my intention for other people to become involved to amend the map and gradually update it as the years went by. The distribution of the wild cat species needs, as mentioned, updating. But sadly, nobody got involved and on one occasion a person deleted one of my maps. It was the distribution of the puma which was removed by a nasty person. Therefore, I have removed that option.
Maps (4) showing jaguarundi distribution as at 2022
Also, I have updated the distribution not via the Google map but through a screenshot of the map is provided by the Red List which as you can see is dated December 2019 which is quite recent. There was talk about the jaguarundi being in Florida and Arizona. Officially it is found in neither state.
View Jaguarundi Geographic Range in a larger map
At 2002, the Jaguarundi range (distribution) extended from Southern Texas (no longer it seems as the last one was killed by road traffic in 1986 apparently) through to southern Mexico, central America and into South America where it occupies a vast and significant percentage of this continent. They prefer lowlands up to about 2000 metres above sea level, but have been seen at about 3,200 metres above sea level (Columbia). They occupy a wide variety of habitats.
The Jaguarundi’s range overlaps with (is “sympatric”) the ocelot, margay and oncilla but they prefer more open areas than these other small wild cats. Radio tagged cats in Belize were found to prefer areas near streams. The video embedded in the map above of a Jaguarundi swimming across a stream in Suriname indicates their ease in dealing with water and that they hunt in and around water. There is a report of a Jaguarundi catching fish in a pond. They are opportunistic hunters taking what they can.
In Belize and Mexico studies showed that the Jaguarundi hunts in the daytime, with the peak time for hunting being late morning. In Venezuela a study found that mammals make up the biggest part of this cat’s diet but that birds and reptiles also formed a large part of the diet.
As is the case with other wild cats and domestic cats the Jaguarundi eats grass. This is thought to be a dietary supplement for cats that aids the production of hemoglobin through folic acid in the grass (Cat Eating Grass – opens a new window).
From Jaguarundi Cat to Wild Cat Species. See some pictures of the Jaguarundi.
Note: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified.